Bar Human Rights Committee delivers training on rights of IPDs in Nigeria

The Bar Human Rights Committee of England and Wales (‘BHRC’) in conjunction with the Nigerian Bar Association (‘NBA’) conducted a four-day training workshop on the enforcement of the legal rights of internally displaced persons (IDPs) at the domestic, regional and international levels. The workshop took place in Abuja between 12 and 15 February 2018 and was delivered by BHRC Chair, Kirsty Brimelow QC, and members, Dr Tunde Okewale MBE and Jelia Sane, to a group of 55 Nigerian human rights lawyers practising in the North East of the country.

As a result of the conflict between Boko Haram and the state security forces, over 2 million people have been displaced in the northern states of Nigeria, making the nation  home to the 6th largest internally displaced population in the world. The vast majority of IDPs are in dire  need of protection and humanitarian assistance and face widespread abuses of their civil, political, and socio-economic rights, as well as discrimination on account of their displaced status.  Against this background, the principal aim of the workshop was to train participants on international normative framework relevant to the protection of IDP rights, the principle avenues of redress at the regional level and within the UN system, as well as best practices in evidence gathering and retention, in order to increase access to justice for IDPs.

BHRC has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the NBA and will continue to provide training and litigation support for human lawyers in the country  

More information about the workshop can be found here and here.