The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has shared the news that its Executive Secretary, Tony Ojukwu, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), is now the Vice-President of the African National Preventive Mechanisms Network (ANPMN).
In a statement released on Monday, NHRC’s Director of Corporate Affairs and External Linkages, Fatimah Mohammed, said Mr Ojukwu was elected on 26 June at the Fourth Annual Conference of ANPMN, which took place in Kigali, Rwanda.
Philile Ntuli, who is the commissioner of the South African Human Rights Commission, was elected as the President of the ANPMN.
ANPMN is the main platform for National Preventive Mechanisms (NPMs) set up under the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention against Torture, OPCAT. Its Secretariat is based in Morocco.
The network aims to improve monitoring of places where people are held, share best practices, enhance technical cooperation among African NPMs, and work towards preventing torture across the continent.
Other members elected to the Steering Committee include representatives from Morocco, Rwanda, Mozambique, Mali, Senegal, and Mauritania.
The NHRC stated that Mr Ojukwu’s election is a recognition of his outstanding leadership in preventing torture and of the NHRC’s growing reputation in promoting monitoring and protecting the rights of people in detention.
“It further reflects the confidence reposed in Nigeria’s National Preventive Mechanism and the Commission’s contributions to regional human rights initiatives,” the NHRC added.
Mr Ojukwu’s new role comes just a year after he was elected as the President of the Network of National Human Rights Institutions in West Africa (NNHRI-WA).
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