A/HRC/28/64/Add.2 IV. Non-discrimination and equality: legal and institutional framework 13. Statistical analysis is of paramount importance for an accurate identification of the ethnic, religious and linguistic make-up of a country as diverse as Nigeria. Data collection plays a vital role in revealing inequalities between groups in society and informs appropriate actions to address them. The Special Rapporteur notes that Nigeria does not collect or analyse data disaggregated by ethnicity, religion or language. Some civil society organizations as well as the National Human Rights Commission stated their concern over the lack of disaggregated statistical data and the outdated census information, given that the census was last conducted in 2006. Other voices, however, were reticent about the collection of disaggregated data, stating fears that sensitive data could be manipulated for political ends. 14. The 1999 Constitution of Nigeria is the supreme law and enshrines the principle of equality and non-discrimination under its article 42, paragraph 1, which contains general non-discrimination provisions on the grounds of belonging to “a particular community, ethnic group, place of origin, sex, religion or political opinion”. 15. The Constitution establishes in its article 14, paragraph 3, the so-called “federal character principle”, which aims to ensure that public appointments reflect an equal representation of all groups at the federal Government level by affirming that “the composition of the Government of the Federation or any of its agencies and the conduct of its affairs shall be carried out in such a manner as to reflect the federal character of Nigeria and the need to promote national unity, and also to command national loyalty thereby ensuring that there shall be no predominance of persons from a few states or from a few ethnic or other sectional groups in that Government or in any of its agencies”. Article 14, paragraph 4, further guarantees the participation of the different groups at the state and local levels, by affirming that “the composition of the government of a state, a local government council, or any of the agencies of such government or council, and the conduct of the affairs of the government or council or such agencies, shall be carried out in such manner as to recognize the diversity of the people within its area of authority and the need to promote a sense of belonging and loyalty among all peoples of the Federation”. 16. Despite these provisions, several interviewees stated that the federal character principle was not applied in practice, because it only reflected the political representation of states at the federal level without applying other criteria, such as ethnic affiliation, in order to guarantee that all groups are adequately represented at the different government levels (local, state and federal). 17. The Federal Character Commission is a constitutionally sanctioned independent body made up of 37 commissioners representing the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. It was established by Decree No. 34 of 1996, with the mandate to give effect to the federal character principle, and is entrusted with “the responsibility to promote, monitor and enforce compliance with the principles of the proportional sharing of all bureaucratic, economic, media and political posts at all level of government”. The Commission’s main functions include monitoring compliance with the Commission’s guidelines of the recruitment procedures by the Government, investigation of complaints, enforcement measures in case of failure to comply with the Commission’s guidelines and data analysis. 18. The National Human Rights Commission was created by a 1995 act that was subsequently amended in 2010 to provide it with additional powers. As an independent human rights monitoring body, it investigates alleged cases of human rights violations and makes recommendations to the Federal Government, receives and investigates complaints concerning human rights violations, assists victims and seeks appropriate redress and 7