Today, 10 December, is International Human Rights Day which commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
To mark the day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein took part in a programme broadcast to a world audience via Facebook, in which he took questions from human rights activists on allegations of human rights abuses across the globe.
Over 500 questions were put to the UN chief, including several on how to address the killings of unarmed pro-Biafran protesters by the Nigerian government. Amnesty International have claimed, with video and eye witness evidence, that about 150 unarmed Biafran separatists have been killed by the army and police since August last year.
Al Hussein agreed that the Nigerian government has been “heavy handed” in dealing with protests saying, “we need to investigate the excessive use of force”.
He added that discussions were being held with the Nigerian authorities and the UN had “expressed concern” about the shooting of protesters.
