A/HRC/7/3/Add.4 page 20 comprehensive findings and recommendations of the Presidential Commission on Reform of the Administration of Justice, the Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and Rehabilitation, and the Presidential Committee on Police Reforms.16 68. Thus the commitment to engage in a meaningful process of reform in Nigeria is not new.17 What is of concern, however, is that such reform efforts have been short-lived, without the same commitment to follow-up. 69. The Special Rapporteur recognizes the significant challenges faced by the country. As the report of the Presidential Commission on Reform of the Administration of Justice in Nigeria states, “… transforming the administration of justice in Nigeria will have to be taken in the context of many and competing economic and human development challenges facing the country 16 Proposals for Reform of the Administration of Justice in Nigeria, Presidential Commission on Reform of the Administration of Justice in Nigeria, February 2006; Report of the Presidential Committee on Police Reform, May 2006; and Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and Rehabilitation (2006). See also Key Interventions in the Justice Sector in Nigeria, Report of the Harmonisation Committee on the Review of Key Recommendations from the Reports of the Presidential Commission on Reform of the Administration of Justice, Presidential Committee on Prison Reform and Rehabilitation, and Presidential Committee on Police Reforms, March 2007. 17 The United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is currently working with the Nigerian Prison Service, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Justice on the development and implementation of the prison reform agenda of the Government. The UNODC prison reform project involves: capacity-building for prison personnel; rehabilitation of prison infrastructures; development of a detainee data file management system; improved health-care delivery; rehabilitation of prison inmates; and prison decongestion. In addition, UNODC is concluding a preventive HIV/AIDS and drug abuse awareness programme in some selected prisons in the country, which began in 2003. More generally, since 2003, UNODC has been working with the Government to strengthen the rule of law, both at the national and local levels, by increasing the capacity and integrity of the justice system, in particular of the judiciary. In one of its projects, “Support to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Nigerian Judiciary”, UNODC is working with the Government and the European Union to: increase access to justice; timeliness and quality of justice; public confidence in the courts; efficiency, effectiveness and credibility of the complaints system; and coordination across the criminal justice system. Other partners in the international community are also striving to see that the effectiveness of the criminal justice sector is enhanced. For example, the United Kingdom Department for International Development (DFID) through its programme, “Security, Justice and Growth Programme”, has substantially supported the justice sector, covering areas such as improving systems for delivery of effective justice services, at both federal and state levels. DFID has also promoted a project on community policing with the Nigerian Police Force. There is currently a Justice Sector Coordination Working Group made up of UNODC, the World Bank, the European Union, DFID, and USAID that seeks to harmonize the respective programmes in the justice sector, develop joint initiatives, and seek out more efficient ways of implementing programmes in the sector.

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