National issues requires collective stakeholder participation – Seyuba

National issues requires collective stakeholder participation – Seyuba

Solwezi, February 28, ZANIS—North-Western province Permanent Secretary, Augustine Seyuba says reviewing of the county’s human rights situation requires comprehensive and collective participation of all stakeholders.

Mr Seyuba said stakeholder consultation is critical in ensuring that reports to be submitted to relevant Treaty bodies are comprehensive enough.

He said that way it will be ease to adequately engage the Treaty bodies in meaningful dialogue with the ultimate goal of working out measures that can be taken to promote the effective realization of human rights in the country.

Mr Seyuba said this in Solwezi yesterday when he officially opened a two day consultative workshop on the preparation of state reports on the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) and the International Convention on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) organized by the Ministry of Justice.

He advised participants that included government and civil society representatives to be very frank and open in their deliberations to ensure that the reports which will be submitted are factual and informative.

He said there is need to reflect on the challenges the country faced in preparing the previous reports and the short comings on those reports as noted by the relevant Treaty bodies.

Mr Seyuba said all pertinent issues in the previous reports need to be identified and comprehensively deliberated on in order to improve the country’s human rights record.