A/HRC/11/L.10
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national plan of action for the promotion and protection of human rights, the implementation of
which would be a clear opportunity to make further significant progress. It noted that the
attainment of the objectives set out in the plan and the implementation of the review
recommendations would be easier if Nigeria could benefit from the support of the international
community.
3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders
364. Amnesty International welcomed Nigeria’s engagement with the universal periodic review
and its commitment to cooperate in every aspect of the work of the Council. It also welcomed
Nigeria’s statement according to which it continued to exercise a self-imposed moratorium on
the death penalty, but expressed concern at recent legislative amendments in several States in
Nigeria to extend the scope of the death penalty to include crimes related to kidnapping.
Amnesty International welcomed the announcement by Nigeria to support most of the review
recommendations and urged early implementation in particular of recommendations related to
women’s rights; access to justice; the fight against impunity; discrimination on the basis of
gender and sexual orientation; the independence of the human rights commission; and on a
formal moratorium on the death penalty.
365. The Canadian HIV/AIDS Legal Network stated that the delegation of Nigeria had recalled
that the rights enshrined in the Constitution applied to all people, including those who considered
themselves gay. It referred to the proposed same sex prohibition bill of 2006 and the same
gender prohibition bill of 2008, noting that, if approved, the bill would seriously restrict essential
freedoms and HIV-prevention services, as well as the activities of human rights defenders.
Reference was also made to harassment and publications in the media inciting and promoting
hatred against sexual minorities. The Network asked Nigeria to repeal criminal provisions
against consensual same-sex conduct, and to ensure that the human rights of lesbian, gay,
bisexual and transgender individuals and human rights defenders were not violated; to reject any
attempt to create discriminatory new laws; and eliminate all existing legislation that
discriminated on the basis of sexual orientation.
366. While referring to claims by Nigeria reflected in paragraph 6 of the Working Group report,
Conectas Direitos Humanos believed that Nigeria had failed to implement reforms that did not
require substantial financial resources or additional capacity, citing as an example the
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