NIGERIA has interest in the headship of the UN Human Rights Council, the country�s Ambassador to Switzerland, Dr Martin Uhomoibhi, said yesterday in Geneva.
�This month, it is Africa�s slot to present the Presidency of the council, and Nigeria has indicated its readiness,” the ambassador said.
Uhomoibhi told reporters that Nigeria was eminently qualified to head the council, going by its human rights� records as well as its respect for the rule of law.
A correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Geneva reports that the Human Rights Council, which has replaced the Commission on Human Rights, started work in June 2006.
It is based in Geneva and Nigeria is one of its 47 members. The Commission on Human Rights had come under strong criticisms on account of excessive selectivity and polarisation that marked its activities, thereby making it to lose considerable credibility.
Its capacity to act was also increasingly called into question. Uhomoibhi explained that the Council assumed its present status three years ago and is currently headed by Europe, represented by Romania.
Although another African country, Djibouti, has also indicated willingness, Uhomoibhi said that Nigeria would be preferred.
He stated that Nigeria�s headship would translate to a stable polity for the Council and enhanced respect for the rule of law.
�Impunity will not be tolerated if Nigeria becomes the president as stability will be on its priority list,�� he said.
The ambassador stated that Nigeria�s exemplary demonstration of the rule of law would be carried over to the international council.
He also described as excellent, Nigeria�s relations with Switzerland and commended Berne for being the first country to have repatriated looted funds to Abuja.
He urged other countries to follow the Swiss example.
The ambassador stated that a Swiss group called Zurich 9, comprising world�s leading entrepreneurs, would soon sign a pact to do business with Nigeria.
Areas of focus will be aviation development, oil and gas as well as power generation.
He said that the 3,078 Nigerians living in Switzerland were law abiding, adding that “Nigeria in Diaspora (NIDO), an association of Nigerians living abroad, mobilises Nigerians here for development.”
Uhomoibhi advised Nigerians wishing to do business in Switzerland to begin with small-scale businesses, especially in local fabrics and agriculture.