…Presidential panel on human rights violation hold public hearing in Maiduguri Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC), a Non Governmenta...
Save Humanity Advocacy Centre (SHAC), a Non Governmental Organization has cautioned the Federal Government through the Presidential Investigation Panel to Review Compliance of the Armed Forces with Human Rights Obligations and Rules of Engagement in Local Conflicts and Insurgencies to be weary of activities of Amnesty International in the country.
SHAC in a motion submitted to the panel’s public hearing holding in Maiduguri Wednesday described Amnesty International as a perverted witness which should not be allowed to testify on humanitarian issues in Nigeria.
“Amnesty International lacks credibility to testify on any issue in Nigeria consequent upon the confirmation of its bias against the country. Amnesty International has a history that precludes it from testifying before the Presidential Investigation Panel to Review Compliance of The Armed Forces with Human Rights Obligations and Rules of Engagement in Local Conflicts and Insurgencies”, the group submitted.
In the document signed by Ibrahim Abubakar for the Executive Secretary and obtained by our correspondent, SHAC expressed deep reservations on the activities of AI in the country while calling on the Presidential Panel to take the following measures ranging from;
“The panel should strike out Amnesty International as one of the organizations to make presentations before it on accounts that any testimony by the group would taint the panel’s work.
“Any written submissions made by Amnesty International to this panel should be discountenanced forthwith.
“The panel should recommend the future participation of Amnesty International in the internal affairs of Nigeria with a proviso that an independent study be conducted to review the organization’s continued presence in Nigeria.
“The panel should recommend a special enlightenment programme to correct the wrong impressions that Amnesty International’s flawed reports have made on the psyche of citizens.”
SHAC in the document noted that with a careful literature review of Amnesty International activities and comparative analysis in other countries, it came to a conclusion that, “the organization’s reports have been pivotal in many global decisions that have impacted the world, unfortunately, often times for the worse”, adding that, “ Amnesty International was found to unfairly and routinely target Nigerian authorities for condemnation in its reports, which blame government troops and law enforcement for rights violation in conflict situations without acknowledging the atrocities committed by terrorists. Until recently, in the wake of widespread criticism of its work, did AI bother to highlight the horrors being committed by Boko Haram; even this was couched in a way to indict the military”.
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