Citizen survey to take pulse of human rights in country |09 May 2005

The Centre for Rights and Development (Cefrad) and the Liaison Unit for Non-Governmental Organisations (Lungos) will carry out the survey as one of the main components of a broader project on human rights, which will also see the publication of a citizenship education manual.

Lungos chairman Nirmal Jivan Shah, Cefrad head Mathew Servina and Roland Alcindor of the UNDP met on Friday May 6 at Lungos headquarters to sign the project document.

The survey will target more than 6,000 Seychellois with the aim of obtaining a fair assessment of the perceptions people have of democracy, human rights and the law. It will also try to take stock of which issues are of most concern to citizens from all walks of life.

According to Mr Shah, the project was a unique one, as it would mark a first for civil society. He said it was “high time civil society took this kind of project under consideration.”

Funding from the UNDP meant the project was a valuable one, Mr Alcindor said, noting the stiff competition for UNDP funds applied for by various organisations.

The project aims to kick-start a dialogue on human rights in the country, he added, which would hopefully be self-sustaining even after UNDP funding has dried up for the project.

Mr Servina said he hoped the survey and the project’s outcomes would get the nation sensitised about human rights.