Role of Govt, Civil Society in Democracy Identified
By Ndubuisi Ugah
The dividends of the current democratic dispensation can only be felt by the masses, if there is a perfect working relationship between Civil Society Groups and Human Rights Groups, as this will ultimately usher in rapid socio-economic development for the nation.
The observations were the highlights of a three-day workshop organised for South-west Non-governmental Organisations (NGOs) on Instituitional Capacity Building for Human Rights Groups in Nigeria.
The workshop, which was organised by Legal Resources Consortium (LRC) and the Human and Environmental Development Agency (HEDA) with the support of the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) and with the theme: "Managing NGOs for Human Rights Advocacy And Networking with Human Rights Institutions/NGOs", assessed the role of human rights groups in Nigeria for work in a democratising society.
In a communique issued at the end of the workshop, participants agreed that there was need for CSO and rights groups to formulate new methodologies in handling human rights issues; strive to strengthen and build networks of human rights groups working on special aspects of human rights in Nigeria and internationally, especially at the grassroots with a view to strengthening the relationships between such organisations and government agencies as well as legislature.
The communique, which was signed by Messrs Olanrewaju Suraj and John Oziegbe, coordinator and rapporteur respectively, said "all CSGs must engage the parliament, the judiciary and other government institutions like the Legal Aids Council, the National Human Rights Commission, the Public Complaints Commission and other initiatives at the state level like the Office of the Public Defender, the Directorate of Citizens Rights" in achieving the set objectives so raised by participants.
For the Judiciary to have an effective intervention in the enhancement of human rights culture, participants noted that there was need for the Judiciary to be funded with judges having routine training and retraining for proper understanding of the problems facing the society.
"Civil Society Organisations should be encouraged to form coalitions or networks for proper articulation of ideas as it relates to human rights and other vital national issues.
"Civil Society Groups should improve their participation in the parliamentary process by making effective use of the Public Petition Committee at both national and state legislatures, especially by engaging lawmakers at public hearings on isssues bordering on national issues", the communique said.
The workshop also identified access to imformation as a major problem in human rights promotion and protection, adding that CSGs should strive "to explore better and more effective strategies for ensuring that the Freedom of Information Bill is passed".
Equally, the workshop emhasised the need for urgent law reforms, change of attitude towards women's rights, with the promotion of women's rights not limited to getting women elected into the national Assembly but, should be made to be more effective in their respective offices.
On the frequent occurences of youth restiveness in the Niger Delta, the participants urged governments at both Federal and State levels to address the fundamental problems of poverty, unemployment, corruption and other social vices, which are causes of crimes in the society.
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