The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Tuesday said that irregular migration is caused by problems such as poverty, inequalities, conflict, and a few others.

The Executive Secretary of the Commission, Chief Tony Ojukwu (SAN), has also identified economic and political vulnerabilities such as human insecurity as the major triggers to irregular migration, trafficking and smuggling of migrants.

Ojukwu stated this in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja during his welcome remarks at the training of NHRC staff on human rights and migration.

He also observed that human rights are at the heart of migration and must be respected in compliance with international best practices.

According to him, there is need to adopt a human rights based approach in dealing with issues of migration since “it extends to other core human rights such as the night to dignity, the nght to adequate standard of living, the right to quality health and education amongst others”.

The Human Rights Advocate regretted that in our world today, migrants face dehumanizing conditions, illegal arrests and prolonged detention, torture, inhumane and degrading treatment, life threatening conditions on land and sea and that such occurrences should be the concer of stakeholders.

The NHRC Boss called on stakeholders including the law enforcement agencies to pay more attention to irregular migration and smuggling across our borders.

“It is important that we do not lose sight of trafficking within Nigeria, considering its socio economic and human rights implications,” Ojukwu stated.

“The Commission will continue to work with partners within and outside government to strengthen policies and practices that impact on the human rights of migrants and victims of trafficking and smuggling of migrants,” he promised.

The NHRC Executive Secretary who is a Fellow Institute of Chartered Mediators and Conciliators (FICMC) underscored the importance of the two day training programme to the staff of the Commission.

“As human rights advocates and frontline defenders, staff of the Commission stand on a strong legal and institutional footing to tackle this present and emerging styles of human rights violations,” Ojukwu said.
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