U.S. Mission to International
Organizations in Geneva

U.S. Statement at the Universal Periodic Review of Nigeria
31^st Session
Geneva, November 6, 2018

as delivered by Charles Bentley

The United States welcomes the Nigerian delegation to the UPR Working Group.

We recommend that Nigeria:

1. Make public the findings of the Presidential Investigative Panel, which investigated allegations of human rights violations by the military, to facilitate open analysis and scrutiny.
2. Enforce a comprehensive ‘handover protocol’ to ensure that detained children are promptly transferred to child protection actors.
3. Implement safeguards to prevent the sexual exploitation and abuse of vulnerable persons and hold those responsible accountable.

The United States is encouraged by Nigeria’s progress in addressing the Civilian Joint Task Force’s recruitment and use of child soldiers, but stress the importance of ensuring the reintegration of former child soldiers and that there are no children within the Nigerian military.

We remain deeply concerned by allegations of human rights violations and abuses, including those involving sexual exploitation and abuse of internally displaced persons, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary or unlawful detention by the Nigerian military and the Civilian Joint Task Force, and the targeting of LGBTI persons.