From Ighomuaye Lucky, Benin
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has raised the alarm over the spate of domestic violence despite massive sensitisation of the masses.
Mr Olumide Dosumu, the Edo State Coordinator of NHRC, disclosed this while answering a question after speaking on the topic “Human Rights Law and Protection of Community and Indigenous People’s Rights in Nigeria” at a one-day Palm Oil Supply Chain Human Rights Training Workshop for CSOs and media organisations, an event put up by AFRILAW in the state.
He said though there are various forms of complaints on human rights abuses being received by the Commission, that of domestic violence is topping the charts.
Mr Dosumu added that it is not that the civil society organisations are not doing enough to sensitise the public on the need to shun violence and report any of these acts to the Commission, but they just have to redouble their efforts and keep advocating until there is a drastic reduction in human rights abuses in the state and in the country at large.
Speaking on “Effective Oil Palm Business Enterprise and Host Community Engagement for Sustainable Oil Palm Development in Nigeria,” an independent research consultant, Dr Uyi Ojo, said 60,000 persons have been displaced from their communities by a multinational palm oil company that forcefully acquired their farmlands to enlarge their plantations.
Mr Ojo, represented by Dr Osuma Oarhe, said such an act violates the rights of the people of the communities who have been displaced.
Ojo said one of the major reasons host communities and the multinational companies are usually having a showdown is that they are not adequately compensated for the acquisitions of their lands.
He added that the best way to have gone about the whole process is for the host communities and the companies to sit down and have a Community Development Agreement (CDA) signed by both parties.
He said media organisations can also do a lot to help report human rights abuses in the various host communities and, by so doing, keep them in check and ensure that there is a mutual benefit between the multinational companies and their host communities.
On the part of the Executive Director, AFRILAW, Mr Okereke Chinwike, while speaking on “Responsible Oil Palm Chain and Protection of Community/Indigenous People and Human Rights Defenders in Nigeria,” he maintained that civil society organisations are saddled with the responsibility to champion the cause of those whose rights and privileges have been abused in any of the communities where these oil palm multinational companies operate.
He said the civil society organisations and the media organisations also must wake up to their core duty and mandate to ensure that these companies carry out their Corporate Social Responsibilities (CSR) to their host communities and that they must measure up to standard and not just give them what they feel like giving as CSR.