ABUJA. – The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has begun plans to validate the Complaints Treatment Procedure Manual, to enable it to meet up with the challenges of handling complaints from the public.
The Head of Complaints Registry, Mr Emmanuel Akaa, announced this at a two-day stakeholders’ workshop on the manual in Abuja on Thursday.
It was organised by the commission in collaboration with the Swiss Embassy.
Akaa, who represented the commission’s Director of Protection and Investigation, Abdulraham Yakubu, said validation of the manual was necessary, considering the myriads of complaints received on a daily basis.
“This workshop is organised to validate the complaints handling procedure manual, which has been put before us by the consultants to digitalise.
“It is to streamline and enhance our processes, so that we can become better in order to decongest our tables which are filled up.
“This is designed to streamline the processes of receipt of complaints and what processes to follow in determining the rightness or wrongness of the complaints,” he said. [eap_ad_1] Akaa said the old manual required validation because it did not meet international best practice.
He further said that most complaints before the commission were on alleged violation by the military, amongst others.
He said that other major complaints were on women and child rights complaints.
Mr Kehinde Aina, the Lead Consultant at the workshop, said the essence of the project was to ensure that the commission carried out its mandate effectively.
“What has been done between the human rights commission and the Swiss embassy is ensuring that a manual is put in place that will put the structures aright.
“More importantly is to train the staff appropriately in the direction of a new human rights commission as a whole.
“That is what has prompted the workshop and that is what the workshop is intended to deliberate upon, “ he said.
Part of the mandate of the commission is to create appropriate mechanism of receiving complaints on human rights violations.
The consultant, among other things, is expected to evolve an appropriate framework and methodology for complaints treatment, train staff and develop a manual on complaints treatment. (NAN)
[eap_ad_4]
