On October 18, 2023, upon request of the Company of the Daughters of Charity of St. Vincent DePaul, the CCIG delivered an online training session addressed to 23 local human rights activists from Nigeria, working in the field of education, health and social services. The training’s overall objectives were to explain the functioning of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and underline the importance for the grassroot and civil society actors to engage with the UPR of their own country. In fact, the 4th UPR of Nigeria is scheduled to take place in Geneva on 23 January 2024 during the 45th UPR session. Prior to the training session, participants had supported two UPR submissions on Nigeria presented at the UN in July 2023, one submission focusing on the rights of children and a second one focusing on the rights of women, displaced persons and people with disabilities, among others. 

The rapid approach of the UPR session, raised the need to coordinate lobbying and networking with other NGOs for meaningful impact on the UPR recommendations to be addressed to Nigeria during the review and, ultimately, on the human rights situation on the ground. The CCIG was therefore happy to deliver this training to equip local human rights defenders in Nigeria with the needed understanding and know-how to effectively engage with the UPR mechanism and express their concerns on the major human rights challenges in Nigeria.