Overview
The PP FoRB project aims to empower various stakeholders to address and prevent conflicts along religious lines, promote FoRB, and enhance public understanding of interfaith issues in Nigeria. The project employs a holistic approach involving EWER mechanisms, support systems for at-risk individuals, and improved public communication through strategic media engagement. It leverages the collaboration of community members, religious leaders, security agencies, civil society actors, and media practitioners to achieve its objectives and foster a more peaceful and inclusive society.
Duration: 36 months
Donor: Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, Abuja, Nigeria
Overall Goal:
To empower actors to prevent and address conflicts along religious lines and advance Freedom of Religion or Belief (FoRB) in Nigeria.
Strategic Objectives
EWER and Referral Mechanisms
– Establish effective Early Warning/Early Response (EWER) and referral mechanisms for FoRB violations and religious violence.
Support Mechanisms
– Strengthen support mechanisms for individuals at risk of FoRB violations.
Public Understanding
– Enhance public understanding of interfaith conflict and the importance of FoRB.
Project Scope
Geographic Focus: National scope across six geopolitical zones of Nigeria. All 36 states in Nigeria
Expected Results
- Improved Implementation
– FoRB norms and principles are better implemented, leading to a decrease in religious persecution and discrimination.
- Inclusive Support
– Security agencies, human rights defenders, civil society, and faith-based actors provide more inclusive support to survivors of FoRB violations.
- Increased Access to Information
– Citizens have greater access to information on the importance of FoRB and benefit from a more diversified media landscape.
Intermediate Results
- EWER Improvements
– Mechanisms for detecting and responding to FoRB violations are improved.
– Collaborative action between local, national, and regional actors is enhanced.
- Support Capacity
– Legal practitioners and other actors have better capacities to support individuals whose FoRB rights have been violated.
– Survivors have increased knowledge of and access to support services.
- Media and Communication
– Journalists and social media influencers are better equipped to produce conflict-sensitive reporting on interfaith and FoRB-related issues.
– Target communities have more access to neutral and conflict-sensitive information promoting interfaith harmony.
Early Warning Early Response (EWER) Strategy
– Participatory Approach
– Empower stakeholders to own the EWER process while Search shadows the process.
– Use both offline and digital tools, including online listening software, for tracking.
Key target audience
- Community Members: Central to the process as agents of their own change.
- State Chapters of NHRC: Collaboration for rights protection.
- Media Houses and NUJ: Enhance strategic communication.
- Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN): Engagement for interfaith dialogue.
- National Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs (NSCIA): Partner in religious harmony initiatives.
- Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) and Legal Aid Council: Legal support and advocacy.
- National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) and National Orientation Agency (NOA): Institutional support.
- Human Rights Defenders and Community
