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Selected Works

Human rights

2015

Obiora Chinedu Okafor

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On Legalism, Popular Agency And "Voices Of Suffering": The Nigerian National Human Rights Commission In Context, Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Shedrack C. Agbakwa Oct 2015

On Legalism, Popular Agency And "Voices Of Suffering": The Nigerian National Human Rights Commission In Context, Obiora Chinedu Okafor, Shedrack C. Agbakwa

Obiora Chinedu Okafor

The set of standards for the evaluation of National Human Rights Commissions (NHCs) formulated and applied by the UN constitute the dominant conception of an ideal NHC. Virtually every scholar, nongovernmental organization, and governmental body that has commented on the effectiveness of NHCs shares this dominant UN-driven conception of the ideal NHC. However, this dominant conception is significantly limited, and requires fundamental enlargement and revision if the NHCs animated by its vision are to have a significantly increased transformative potential. A performance assessment study of the Nigerian National Human Rights Commission (using the more holistic vision of ideal NHC developed …


Assessing Baxi’S Thesis On The Emergence Of A Trade-Related Market-Friendly Human Rights Paradigm: Recent Evidence From Nigerian Labour-Led Struggles, Obiora Chinedu Okafor Oct 2015

Assessing Baxi’S Thesis On The Emergence Of A Trade-Related Market-Friendly Human Rights Paradigm: Recent Evidence From Nigerian Labour-Led Struggles, Obiora Chinedu Okafor

Obiora Chinedu Okafor

The objective of the article is to assess some of the sub-claims that emerge from Baxi’s thesis on an emergent trade-related market-friendly human rights paradigm in the light of the available evidence regarding the intense contestations and confrontations that have occurred between Nigeria’s politically and economically transitional Obasanjo regime and a local labour-led coalition. The piece sets out to ascertain the contextual and localised validity of these ‘Baxian’ sub-claims, within the wider context of the government vs. labour confrontations in Nigeria during the neo-liberal socio-economic reforms undertaken in that country between 1999 and 2005.