Isa Sanusi | File Photo
‘The ratification of this Protocol marks a vital step forward to protect the human rights of older people in Nigeria’
By Valentine Amanze
Amnesty International has commended President Bola Tinubu of Nigeria for ratifying the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Rights of Older Persons.
Amnesty International Nigeria’s Country Director, Isa Sanusi, made the commendation in a statement made available to Nigeria News Flight on Wednesday October 25, 2023.
He said that the ratification of the document was a step in the right direction.
His words: “The ratification of this Protocol marks a vital step forward to protect the human rights of older people in Nigeria.
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“The Protocol requires that state parties protect the rights of older people, including by preventing discrimination against them, guaranteeing their access to healthcare, social protection, and support, and ensuring that they are among those prioritized in any humanitarian emergencies.
“Nigeria has now an opportunity to champion this cause further by engaging with other African states to encourage their ratification of the Protocol. By doing so, Nigeria can help in advancing the rights of older people across the continent, ensuring their dignity and human rights are fully respected, protected and fulfilled.’’
Amnesty International also appealed to Nigeria to fully support a UN convention on the rights of older persons, ensuring that the essential rights could become a reality for older people around the world.
Nigeria is now the 13th member-state to affirm its obligations to strengthening the protection of the rights of older people through a binding regional legal instrument.
Recall, in a report published in December 2020, ‘My heart is in pain’: Older people’s experience of conflict, displacement, and detention in Northeast Nigeria, Amnesty International documented how older people in the country are disproportionately affected by conflict, and also how displaced older people are consistently overlooked by humanitarian response.
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