A Bill for an act to give effect to the provisions of the African Union convention for the protection and assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Nigeria and for related matters has passed second reading.
The bill which was sponsored by Honourable Dachung Bagosgos seeks to domesticate an African Union convention on the protection and assistance of internally displaced persons.
The mover of the bill Honourable Baggos says it has as its ultimate goal the elimination of the root causes of internal displacement and the mitigation of its resultant effect.
“In a bid to do this, the bill purports to establish an Internal Displacement Coordination Committee which will collaborate with state actors, non state actors and all competent authorities to provide a comprehensive and gender friendly framework for national response, coordination and collaboration for the protection, assistance and humanitarian interventions relating to internal displacement. Further, the committee shall outline obligations and impose responsibilities on all relevant government agencies in order to ensure that rights of internally displaced persons are protected,” Baggos said.
He said that the Internal displacement of individuals has been a great threat to peace and security in Nigeria and Africa at large.
“In recent times, Nigeria has been faced with unpleasant experiences such as erosions, flooding, oil spillage and clashes as well as disputes between herdsmen and farmers which have all led to some form of abuse of the rights of persons affected; causing them to abandon their homes, property and their family and terminally leaving them displaced. In light of these unfortunate occurrences that have plagued the country, it is evident the need to domesticate a legislation such as this is crucial. Failure to apply more vigorous efforts to protect citizens during armed conflict and other violences will result in Increasing national displacement figures. Internally displaced persons are among the most vulnerable of all civilians and with a lack of the domestic normative and policy frameworks needed to respond to their specific needs and vulnerabilities, it will be impossible to effectively protect them. Further, Internally displaced persons just like every other human being have rights that are protected by both international and domestic human rights legislations. Therefore, in situations of armed conflict, internally displaced persons should enjoy the same rights as other civilians to the various protections provided by international humanitarian law,” the bill said.
It also pointed out that, as a paramount element of sovereignty, it was impedient upon Nigeria to domesticate the piece.
“It is the general premonition and the honorable thing for the Nigerian government to be responsible for protecting and safeguarding the rights of the of the internally displaced persons within her polity. Therefore, I urge Mr Speaker and my distinguished colleagues to support this bill for second reading,” he said.
Confidence Okwuchi
