NHRC Trains Staff on Human Rights Reporting, Digital Advocacy

Participants at a two-day training organised by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in Abuja have pledged to use the skills acquired to strengthen human rights protection and promotion in Nigeria.

The training focused on human rights reporting and advocacy, covering areas including graphic design with Canva, content creation, social media management, news writing and storytelling from a human rights perspective.

Declaring the programme open, NHRC Executive Secretary, Professor Tony Ojukwu, SAN, said effective human rights protection goes beyond investigations, interventions and policy recommendations. He said the ability to communicate rights issues accurately and clearly was also important.

Ojukwu, who was represented by the Director of Civil and Political Rights, Halilu Adamu, said communication had become increasingly important in the digital age. According to him, how human rights issues are presented can influence public understanding, attention to cases and citizens’ awareness of their rights and responsibilities.

He said the training would help the commission turn complex human rights issues into accessible visual content, particularly for young people and digital audiences. Ojukwu also described social media as an important platform for public education, advocacy, engagement and countering misinformation.

The Executive Secretary urged NHRC staff to promote a communication culture built around accuracy, professionalism, ethics, empathy, dignity and strategic advocacy.

The Director of Corporate Affairs and External Linkages Department, Fatimah Agwai, said the programme was organised to strengthen the commission’s communication capacity in line with the standards expected of National Human Rights Institutions with A-Status accreditation from the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI).

Agwai said the accreditation reflected compliance with the Paris Principles and brought additional responsibilities for the commission. She said the NHRC’s media operations should go beyond event coverage and use communication to promote human rights, adding that its public statements should reflect independence, impartiality and credibility.

At the end of the training, participants pledged to apply the knowledge gained to produce stronger content, improve advocacy and public engagement, and contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria in line with global best practices.