The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) is a distinctive process that involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. It provides an opportunity for all States to declare the actions they have taken to improve human rights situations in their countries and address challenges to the enjoyment of human rights. During this process, NGOs can submit information that is considered during the review, ensuring that their concerns are included as a basis for the assessment.
The Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa (ORFA), a partner organization of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (IIRF), recently delivered a submission for the United Nations Universal Periodic Review on Nigeria. The focus of this submission is on violence in Nigeria during the reporting period, based on data collected through three years of gathering by our Nigerian partners within the country. This data spans the periods from October 1, 2019, to September 30, 2020, October 1, 2020, to September 30, 2021, and October 1, 2021, to September 30, 2022.
This submission, and the report it is based on, represent a first-of-its-kind approach in the region, aiming to illustrate how the right to religious freedom is affected by an ongoing “culture of violence” created by terrorist groups such as Boko Haram, Islamic State in West Africa Province (ISWAP), armed Fulani herders, bandits, and other smaller groups.
You can find the original report here: Killings and Abductions in Nigeria
You can find the submission to the UPR: Submission of the Observatory of Religious Freedom in Africa to the 45th session of the UPR working group