OutRage! News Jan 19th... (addresses for protests etc are in the text below....)

Nigeria – Savage new anti-gay law

World’s most sweeping, draconian homophobic legislation

Fear grips lesbian and gay community in Nigeria

Inaction by US, Britain and EU – Bill will soon become law

London – 18 January 2006

“Nigeria seems certain to legislate one of the world’s most sweeping
and repressive anti-gay laws, unless international pressure is bought
to bear on the Nigerian government in the next few weeks,” said Peter
Tatchell of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender human rights
group OutRage!.

“We appeal to gay and human rights groups worldwide to take urgent
action to press the Nigerian government to uphold international human
rights law and to drop this draconian legislation.

See protest information below.

“A new bill, currently being debated in the Nigerian parliament, is
the most comprehensively homophobic legislation ever proposed in any
country in the world. Its extremism is rivalled only by the death
penalty that exists for homosexuality in several Islamic
fundamentalist states,” added Mr Tatchell.

“The bill is primarily concerned with banning same-sex marriage, but
its sub-clauses go much further. They will strip lesbian and gay
Nigerians of their already limited civil rights. The bill outlaws
almost every expression, affirmation and celebration of gay identity
and sexuality, and prohibits the provision of sympathetic advice and
welfare support to lesbians and gay men.

“Violations will be punished with an automatic five year jail
sentence.

“The draconian measure will outlaw membership of a gay group,
attending a gay meeting or protest, advocating gay equality, donating
money to a gay organisation, hosting or visiting a gay website, the
publication or possession of gay safer sex advice, renting or selling
a property to a gay couple, expressions of same-sex love in letters or
emails, attending a same-sex marriage or blessing ceremony, screening
or watching a gay movie, taking or possessing photos of a gay couple,
and publishing, selling or loaning a gay book or video.

“Even mere socialising by two or more gay people is likely to be
interpreted as illegal.

A full briefing on the new bill follows below.

“It widens Nigeria’s already harsh anti-gay laws, to criminalise any
expression, public or private, of homosexuality. Attending a private
gathering of gay people, or imparting HIV prevention information to a
gay person, will become a crime.

“Even before this new legislation, homosexuality was punished with a
14-year jail term under civil law, and by the death penalty in the
northern regions of the country that are governed by Sharia law.

“The new legislation is backed by the Anglican Church in Nigeria and
by its notoriously homophobic Archbishop, Peter Akinola. They are
encouraging and endorsing the bill’s victimisation of their gay
countrymen and women, including the victimisation of their fellow
Christians who are gay.

“The new law will criminalise gay Christian gatherings, blessings and
celebrations. It is a direct attack on both the Christian and gay
communities of Nigeria,” said Mr Tatchell.

The bill is entitled, “The Prohibition of Relationships Between
Persons of the Same Sex, Celebration of Marriage by Them, and for
Other Matters Connected Therewith.” It has been approved by the
Federal Executive Council and is now before the National Assembly. It
is expected to be passed and become law shortly.

Under the bill, a penalty of five years imprisonment will be imposed
on any person who “goes through the ceremony of marriage with a person
of the same sex,” or who “performs, witnesses, aids or abets the
ceremony of same sex marriage,” or who “is involved in the
registration of gay clubs, societies and organisations, sustenance,
procession or meetings, publicity and public show of same sex amorous
relationship directly or indirectly in public and in private.”

What you can do:

Email your protest to the Nigerian High Commissioner in London.

Since Nigeria is a member of the Commonwealth, please also email the
Commonwealth Secretary-General, urging him to press the Nigerian
government to scrap the new anti-gay law.

Remind both men that this homophobic bill enshrines severe, illegal
discrimination and is a violation of Nigeria’s commitment to uphold
international human rights law.

You could also ask your own MP to write a protest letter to the
Nigerian High Commissioner.

Nigerian High Commissioner in London

His Excellency Dr. Christopher Kolade

Email:  hc@nigeriahc.org.uk
Fax: 0207 8398746
Phone: 020 78391244
Address: Nigerian High Commission, 9 Northumberland Avenue, London,
WC2N 5BX


Secretary-General of the Commonwealth

Rt Hon Donald C McKinnon

Email:  secretary-general@commonwealth.int
Fax: 020 7930 0827
Phone: 020 7747 6500
Address: Commonwealth Secretariat, Marlborough House, Pall Mall,
London SW1Y 5HX, UK

Further information: Peter Tatchell, OutRage! 020 7403 1790


Background

On 19 January 2006, Justice Minister and Attorney-General, Chief Bayo
Ojo, presented to the Federal Executive Council of Nigeria an “Act to
Make Provisions for the Prohibition of Relationship Between Persons of
the Same Sex, Celebration of Marriage by Them, and for Other Matters
Connected Therewith.”

The bill has since been approved by the Federal Executive Council and
is now before the National Assembly. It is expected to be passed and
become law shortly.

Under the bill, a penalty of five years imprisonment will be imposed
on any person who “goes through the ceremony of marriage with a person
of the same sex,” or who “performs, witnesses, aids or abets the
ceremony of same sex marriage,” or who “is involved in the
registration of gay clubs, societies and organisations, sustenance,
procession or meetings, publicity and public show of same sex amorous
relationship directly or indirectly in public and in private.”

Anything deemed to acknowledge, support, condone, acquiesce, endorse
or promote a "same-sex amorous relationship" or gay people’s welfare
and human rights will become illegal.

Already, Chapter 42, section 214, of Nigeria’s criminal code penalises
consensual homosexual conduct between adults with 14 years’
imprisonment. This law was originally introduced by the British
colonial administration in the nineteenth century.

In addition, Sharia law, which was introduced in northern Nigeria in
1999, criminalises ‘sodomy’ in Chapter III “Hudud and Hudud related
offences”, Part III “Sodomy (Liwat)”, Section 128-129 of the Kano
State Shari’a Penal Code Law 2000.

By criminalising the peaceful expression of gay identity and any
association in furtherance of lesbian and gay welfare and rights, the
bill strikes at the fundamental freedoms previously enjoyed by the
people of Nigeria – providing a dangerous precedent that could be used
to later target and restrict the rights of other minorities and human
rights advocates.

The Bill Contravenes International Law

The new law undermines fundamental freedoms protected under
international law.

The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights affirms the equality
of all people:

Article 2 states: “Every individual shall be entitled to the enjoyment
of the rights and freedoms recognized and guaranteed in the present
Charter without distinction of any kind such as race, ethnic group,
colour, sex, language, religion, political or any other opinion,
national and social origin, fortune, birth or other status.”

Article 3 enshrines equality before the law.

Article 26 says: “Every individual shall have the duty to respect and
consider his fellow beings without discrimination, and to maintain
relations aimed at promoting, safeguarding and reinforcing mutual
respect and tolerance.”

The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), to
which Nigeria acceded without reservations in 1993, protects the
rights to freedom of expression (article 19), freedom of conscience
(article 18), freedom of assembly (article 21), freedom of association
(article 22), and affirms the equality of all people before the law
and the right to freedom from discrimination (articles 2 and 26).

In the historic, landmark 1994 legal case of Toonen v Australia, the
United Nations Human Rights Committee, which monitors the compliance
of member states with the ICCPR, ruled that sexual orientation should
be understood to be a status protected from discrimination under these
ICCPR articles. States cannot therefore legitimately limit the
enjoyment of human rights on the basis of sexual orientation.

The UN Human Rights Committee has since urged states not only to
repeal laws criminalising homosexuality but to also enshrine the
prohibition of discrimination based on sexual orientation into their
constitutions or other fundamental laws.

This new bill, if passed, would seriously restrict essential freedoms,
as well as the activities of human rights defenders and members of
civil society.

The United Nations Declaration on Human Rights Defenders states in
article 5 that “everyone has the right, individually and in
association with others, at the national and international levels: a)
to meet or assemble peacefully; b) to form, join and participate in
non-governmental organizations, associations or groups.” Article 7 of
the declaration affirms that “Everyone has the right, individually and
in association with others, to develop and discuss new human rights
ideas and principles and to advocate their acceptance.”

Indeed, the Special Representative of the U.N. Secretary General on
Human Rights Defenders has specifically called attention to the
"greater risks... faced by defenders of the rights of certain groups
as their work challenges social structures, traditional practices and
interpretations of religious precepts that may have been used over
long periods of time to condone and justify violation of the human
rights of members of such groups. Of special importance will be...
human rights groups and those who are active on issues of sexuality,
especially sexual orientation." ("Report of the Special Representative
to the Secretary General on human rights defenders," UN Doc.
E/CN.4/2001/94 (2001), at 89g)

* Our thanks to the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights
Commission for providing research and information for this background
briefing.

Ends



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