The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has appointed retired Justice Mary Odili as Chairperson of its Journal Editorial Board, The NewsZenith reports.
Inaugurating the board on Thursday in Abuja, the Executive Secretary of the commission, Mr Tony Ojukwu, SAN said the journal is a useful resource for human rights research.
Ojukwu said that the journal was a collection of scholarly full-length articles on contemporary issues on human rights.
According to him, the maiden edition was published in 2011 with the last one published in 2017.
“We reached out to eminent persons who have made their mark in human rights work and could not have put together a more deserving team.
“The journal, like all publications of the commission, is circulated free of charge to the public, both in hard copy and e-copy.
“It serves as a useful resource for human rights research and scholarly work and has been described in many quarters as being of high standards.
“Not wanting to rest on our oars, the commission is determined to improve the quality of the journal and for this reason, the board has done extra detailed work to come up with this present edition.
“It has also carefully selected these eminent persons to serve on the editorial board.
“In addition, the commission has registered with the African Journal Online (AJOL) which is the World‘s largest and preeminent platform of African-published peer-reviewed scholarly journals.
Other members of the board are Prof. Obiora Okafor, Prof. Abubakar Muazu, Prof. Deji Adekunle and Prof. Jemila Nasir.
Editors of the new issue are Mrs Ifeoma Nwakama, Director of Human Rights Institute of NHRC, Prof. Emily Alemika and Prof. Uchenna Emelonye with Ojkwu as the Editor-in-Chief.
In her inaugural speech, Odili, said that NHRC had over the years, proved to be an outstanding institution in the protection and promotion of human rights in Nigeria.
“So, partnering with them in this regard is a great privilege.
“I have watched your activities with keen interest, being myself a firm believer in the need to have a society where the culture of respect for human rights is promoted.
“I am sure that my years on the bench show clearly my stance on issues of respect for human rights.
“The NHRC journal is an important publication where various persons are able to come up with scholarly articles to express themselves in different areas of human rights.
“Human rights affect every aspect of our daily lives and it is at the heart of development itself.
“It is, therefore, important to constantly update our knowledge on human rights issues, especially in a world where countries are judged by the level of compliance with human rights norms and standards.
“These articles provoke reflection on their target issues and promote knowledge of human rights generally’,” Odili said.
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