The Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, Patricia Scotland, has stated that the Commonwealth is closely monitoring developments around the suspension of Twitter in Nigeria.
Ms. Scotland said, All Commonwealth member countries, including Nigeria, have obligations and commitments to uphold freedom of expression as one of the core values and principles of the Commonwealth Charter. This underscores a commitment to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other relevant human rights covenants and international instruments..
Also being monitored are allegations of repression of the rights to freedom of expression, access to information, media freedom, as well as disregard for the rule of law.
The statement by the Commonwealth followed an Urgent Appeal by Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project, (SERAP), urging Ms. Scotland to apply the Commonwealth Charter to hold the Nigerian government to account over the unlawful suspension of Twitter in Nigeria, and the resulting repression of freedom of expression, access to information and media freedom.
The Commonwealth reaction was disclosed today by SERAP deputy director Kolawole Oluwadare.
SERAPs Urgent Appeal dated 5 June, 2021, read in part: Ms. Scotland should urgently consider recommending the suspension of Nigeria from the Commonwealth to the Heads of Government, the Commonwealth Chair-in-office, and Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II, as Head of the Commonwealth to push the government to take concrete measures to respect and promote the Commonwealths values of human rights, transparency, accountability and the rule of law.
