According to her, they will explore areas that are previously cloaked in technicalities.
This she said was to ensure that the technicalities were no longer used to mislead the intellectual and decision making layers of the society.
Adesola said that the seminar would be organised in partnership with some local Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) affiliated to GAW.
The CSOs include Conscience Nigeria, the Centre for Social Justice, Equity and Transparency (CESJET) and Stand Up for Nigeria (SUN).
“This seminar became necessary because we realised that those who work in the areas of collecting and analysing data and information, and those who publicise the outcomes of these activities do so using distorted templates.
“Let us quickly note that this distortion is nothing deliberate.
“It is not any fault of these people who put themselves at great risks to undertake activities they rightly believe would reshape the world for the better, especially as it pertains to governance and human right issues. “The distortion in our view is the product of entrenched systems built in discrimination in a manner that allow different yardsticks to apply to different countries depending on the economic and military power they wield.
“This in some cases, created a situation where field workers start off their work from biased premises, having being handed shopping lists or formatted checklists that they must conform with.
“They handed over formatted checklists even when the realities they meet on site loudly differ from the preconceived conclusion and recommendations they have been programmed to arrive at.’’
Adesola said that while these guided field works deliver outcomes that “comply with global standards”, their failure to offer context and accommodate prevailing local realities however leaves much to be desired.
“Government of countries that do not collaborate with some of these organisations to manipulate the outcome of these field works are thus judged harshly.
“They are also often labeled in manners that delegitimise their rights to cater for their citizens to deliver security and good governance,’’ she said.
Adesola, however, advised organisations that monitor compliance with human rights and governance issues to work on accurate and undistorted data.
Adesola said that the use of distorted information gathering and reporting, especially in the fight against insurgency would always have negative consequences.
She said that as opposed to drawing attention to and improving human rights issues, some of the fact finding intervention end up worsening the situation for local populations in the affected areas.
“This is more so as armed groups and insurgents tend to exploit the incapacitation of defence forces each time reports are issued to criminalise legitimate law and security enforcement,’’ Adesola said.
She added that while the defence forces of countries were being urged to adhere to rules of engagement, those who monitor compliance with such charters were themselves not allowed to go rogue in their activities.
“This could open them up to becoming tools for agenda that may not augur well for the population in the area of interest.’’
(NAN)
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