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• Calls for coordinated enforcement, better protection of vulnerable persons
• Experts seek functional healthcare systems in prisons, detention centres
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From Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye, Abuja
The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has raised concerns over the gap between Nigeria’s human rights laws and their implementation, warning that vulnerable persons continue to face barriers to justice, healthcare and protection due to poor institutional coordination, inadequate funding and weak accountability.
The organisation called for stronger collaboration among government institutions and functional healthcare systems in prisons and detention centres to ensure that detainees retain access to essential medical services and are not exposed to further health risks.
The call was made in Abuja on Thursday at the National Technical and Institutional Validation Meeting on Guidelines for the Effective Implementation of Selected Laws on Gender, Justice, Human Rights and Health Applicable to Vulnerable Persons in Nigeria.
Speaking on behalf of the UNDP Resident Representative, Onyinye Ndubuisi said the challenge was not the absence of protective laws but the failure to translate existing legal provisions into practical safeguards for women, children, persons with disabilities, detainees and other marginalised groups.
She said survivors of gender-based violence often encounter fragmented responses when seeking medical attention, psychosocial support, legal assistance and protection, while people facing discrimination struggle to access remedies and essential services.
The guidelines, she explained, would consolidate practical direction for implementing existing laws, strengthen coordination between justice and health institutions, clarify institutional responsibilities and improve accountability.
Ndubuisi also disclosed that the UNDP, in partnership with the Global Fund, the Federal and State Ministries of Justice and the Institute of Human Virology Nigeria, was supporting a High-Level Observatory on Gender, Justice, Human Rights and Health across 19 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
She said the Observatory would generate evidence on institutional performance, identify implementation gaps and strengthen oversight, while government agencies would retain their statutory responsibilities.
“What we do not adequately document, we cannot effectively address; what we do not monitor, we cannot hold institutions accountable for,” she said.
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The UNDP urged government institutions to integrate the guidelines into their procedures, budgets, staff training and routine service delivery, stressing that their success would depend on adequate funding, government ownership and measurable improvements in the protection of vulnerable Nigerians.
The Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Lateef Fagbemi, represented by Habiba Hamza, Chief State Counsel in charge of Sexual and Gender-Based Violence at the Federal Ministry of Justice, described the guidelines as an important reform for protecting vulnerable Nigerians.
A member of the technical team that developed the document, Chukwuma Chinaka, said it brought together relevant provisions of the Anti-Torture Act 2017, the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015 and the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, alongside other relevant legislation.
He said the framework would help justice sector practitioners apply the laws more effectively, particularly in addressing discrimination, inhumane treatment and the healthcare needs of people in detention.
Chinaka stressed that detention did not strip individuals of their fundamental human rights, warning that being in custody should not deprive anyone of medical treatment or expose them to avoidable health complications.
Similarly, the Executive Director of the Public Awareness on Rights and Rehabilitation of Vulnerable Persons Initiative, Ogechi Ogu, identified inadequate funding and poor coordination among institutions as major obstacles to the effective enforcement of existing laws.
She said agencies often operated in silos, focusing on individual pieces of legislation rather than working together to provide comprehensive protection.
Another UNDP technical expert, Eberechi Onuselogu, called for functional public healthcare systems in prisons and detention centres, stressing that access to healthcare, including mental and psychological support, remained a fundamental human right.
She warned that disease outbreaks in correctional facilities could expose detainees to serious health risks without adequate medical infrastructure and emergency response systems.
“People don’t need to leave there worse than they came. They need to leave there and also be healthy,” she said.
