Human Rights

In view of the constant abuse of the fundamental human and people’s rights, added to the crass lack and absence of gender rights, civil rights, economic rights, culture rights, environmental rights, and the demands for the guarantee of social and political rights of the people, CIDJAP continued during the year 2007 to create awareness on the urgent need for the promotion and respect of all these rights.

In line with Pope John Paul II’s values on human rights and the Institute’s belief that the violation, abuse, or neglect of any of the fundamental human rights translates to the abuse, neglect, and violation of all human rights.

In the area of promotion and protection of fundamental rights, CIDJAP has handled more than one hundred and twenty litigations, through conflict resolution, arbitration, court representations, and counseling.

The discharge and release of several prison inmates were also facilitated by the Institute, which equally engaged the larger society in its focus on enlightenment and awareness creation to protect human rights.

CIDJAP Leads The Fight For Human Right In Enugu State

In her usual pursuance of justice and peace, the human rights department of CIDJAP has continued to fight for the right of the oppressed and the downtrodden in society.

During the past few months, this department has made several bail applications and also made representatives for persons who were arbitrarily arrested by the police in the cause of mass arrest or for other frivolous reasons. It has influenced the posting of trained police prosecutors to various courts where they were lacking.

One of the most challenging and rewarding works of this office has been mediation. Cases involved here range from matrimonial violence, wife battery, denial of necessities, ostracization, religious disagreement, child abuse/forced labor, assault e.t.c. The process involves several meetings with the parties concerned.

The meetings were held in the homes, offices, or at any convenient venue as suggested and agreed by the parties. The parties are the major participants and often times without knowing its end up solving their problems by themselves. The office plays the guiding role and usually, the parties go home happier as friends.

The human rights department also carries its activities to the prisons where it organizes interviews of and interactive sessions with the prison staff from various departments such as the welfare, records, medical e.t.c. department to update its record on the development, attitude, and behavior of the inmates in different prisons in Enugu State.

The same interactive sessions with several inmates are also held with a view to discovering which of their needs it can help with and also assisting them, either with their needs or contact with the right persons to so provide them.

Within the period more attention was also given to the over 124 asylum inmates of Enugu prison considering the fact that their medications were not readily provided by either the government nor the prison authority.

Also as is the case with some prisons in Nigeria, pregnant and nursing mothers who are offenders are kept in the prison custody pending the determination of their cases. Most often, CIDJAP takes up the responsibility of taking care of such persons in any prison within Enugu State.

CIDJAP also helps in rehabilitating some of the inmates released from prison.

Indeed CIDJAP leads in the fight for human rights.