NANFeatures/Vol.11/No.132/2017 (Sept. 12)
Bringing succour to relations of missing persons
A News Analysis by Wandoo Sombo, News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
Jummai Amos-Ali was13 years old when her mother was abducted in a village in Borno during an attack by the insurgents, and since then; three years ago, she has been nursing the distress of missing her mother.
In addition to the trauma, she has to look after her ailing father and three other siblings while struggling to start school, even as she remains, somewhat, the breadwinner of her family.
Jummai has stashed some of her mother’s documents and other valuables with the hope that her mother will return to the village one day, the event that has yet to occur.
Psychologists observe that such trauma experienced on account of a missing person by his or her relations is worrisome.
They note that Jummai’s case is just one of the many stories of family members of persons who have gone missing on account of insurgency, natural disasters, migration, abduction, trafficking, accidents and detention, among others.
They also observe that Nigerians have been contending with poverty, diseases, epileptic power supply, bad roads, corruption and other cases of criminality before the occurrence of insurgency that has contributed to cases of missing persons.
Similarly, human rights activists note that people suffer from not having contact with, or any news from their missing relations and friends through armed conflict, natural disasters, migration and forced relocation to other places of living.
Unarguably, when fleeing a conflict or natural disaster, children can lose their ways panic while the elderly or the sick may not have the will or ability to leave.
In such situation, injured people can be taken to the hospital without telling their loved one what happened to them while suspects are detained unknown to their relatives.
In this regard, lawyers are constantly thronging the courts with cases of enforcement of the fundamental human rights of their clients who were detained on suspicion of being members of Boko Haram insurgency group.
Apart from the misfortune of the person who is missing, the trauma of the family left behind is often intense as they are left in limbo, uncertain of the fate of the loved ones, whether they are dead or alive.
In the light of this concern among the citizens, the Federal Government has established National Technical Committee charged with the establishment and management of Database of Missing Persons in the country.
The committee is also charged with the responsibility of establishing the necessary components for the oversight, implementation and management of the database.
It will ensure respect for existing legal obligations relating to the protection and processing of personal and sensitive data.
Speaking recently at an event organised to commemorate the 2017 International Day of the Disappeared, chairperson of the committee, Mrs Maryam Uwais, wife of former Chief Justice of Nigeria, said that the database was initially conceptualised to be a register of missing persons in Nigeria for the purpose of documentation and planning.
She, however, stated that following extensive consultation, the mandate and scope of the mechanism evolved to include clarifying the fate and whereabouts of the missing and extending support to families.
She said the vast experiences of the International Committee of the Red Cross and Nigerian Red Cross Society had been very beneficial to the committee.
She further noted that to ascertain how effective the database would be, the Federal Government was embarking on a pilot project of the temporary mechanism in Borno, Rivers and Benue.
“A plan of action for a pilot project of the temporary mechanism in Borno, Rivers and Benue has been developed and will take off as soon as the necessary resources and arrangements are in place,’’ she said.
Explaining further the importance of the Federal Government’s initiative, Mr Edward Pwajok, Chairman, House Committee on Human Rights and Legal Matters, said the existence of a database on missing persons was a step in the right direction.
Pwajok noted that the database would give the National Assembly the right footing to evolve a legislation that would bring succour to relatives of missing persons.
“This will enable us evolve a legislation that is up to speed with the present day realities to ensure that whenever a family member goes missing, the relatives know exactly where to go and lodge a complaint,’’ he said.
While stating that the database would be backed by the necessary legislation to make it effective, he, nonetheless, solicited massive awareness on the existence of the database.
Citing the usefulness of the database, he observed that International Humanitarian Law, the body of law applicable during armed conflict, obliges parties to search for and recover the dead.
The law also obliges all parties to armed conflict to mark graves, ensure proper identification where possible and facilitate the return of human remains.
International Humanitarian Law also makes parties to armed conflict legally bound to take all feasible measures to account for missing persons and to respect the families’ right to know the fate and whereabouts of their relatives.
But the International Committee of the Red Cross says this has not been the case in Nigeria based on its assessment of its programme on tracing and re-uniting families known as “Restoring Family Links.’’
The committee says it has, in collaboration with the Nigerian Red Cross, collected 10, 411 tracing requests out of which 746 individuals have been located and 580 reunited with their families.
Human rights activists, therefore, admit that the task ahead in this regard is daunting, requiring tracing missing persons and reuniting those found with their families.
According to them, the task requires the commitment of government and all other relevant stakeholders to be effective and efficient.(NANFeatures)
**If used, please credit the writer as well as News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)