Same-sex marriage: US to fight anti-gay laws in Nigeria, others

Senate President, David Mark

The United States moved on Tuesday to protect the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transgender persons in Nigeria and other countries through a $3m Global Equality Fund to support civil society organisations working for the rights of LGBTs.

The fund was announced by the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, even as the US President Barak Obama issued a memorandum directing American agencies worldwide to combat the criminalisation of LGBT worldwide.

These signposted the likelihood of a diplomatic showdown between Nigeria and the US, against the backdrop of last week’s passage of an anti-LGBT bill by the Senate.

The Senate had by a unanimous vote on November 29 outlawed public displays of affection between gay and lesbian couples and spelt out a 14-year jail term for any persons involved in same sex marriage.

It also prescribed a 10-year jail term for persons who abet or aid such unions as well as "any person who registers, operates or participates in gay clubs… or directly or indirectly makes public show of same sex amorous relationships."

But Clinton, who spoke at the United Nations in Geneva, said the GEF would help civil society organisations "so they can target their advocacy, learn how to use the law as a tool, manage their budgets and train their staff, and forge partnerships with women’s organisations, and other human rights groups," Agence France Presse reports.

Clinton, who received a standing ovation at the end of her speech, said LGBT rights were universal human rights.

"It is a violation of human rights when people are beaten or killed because of their sexual orientation, or because they do not conform to cultural norms about how men and women should look or behave.

"It is a violation of human rights when governments declare it illegal to be gay or allow those who harm gay people to go unpunished. It is a violation of human rights when life-saving care is withheld from people because they are gay, or public spaces are out of bounds to people because they are gay," she said.

She rejected those who believe that "homosexuality is a Western phenomenon and therefore people from outside the West have grounds to reject it."

She added, "Being gay is not a Western invention. It is a human reality.

"Gay people are born into - and belong to - every society in the world. They are all ages, all races, all faiths. They are doctors, and teachers, farmers and bankers, soldiers and athletes," she said.

Earlier, Obama had directed all American federal agencies to ‘combat’ the crimininalisation of the rights of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender persons worldwide.

Obama’s memorandum

The US president’s memorandum on the rights of LGBTs, the first since he was elected in 2008, specifically directed the agencies to do everything to protect LGBTs in their countries or origin or residence and provide temporary refuge within the US embassies, as a first step.

The seven-section memo is titled, ‘International Initiatives to Advance the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Persons’ and is directed to agencies involved with foreign aid, assistance and development.

They include the Departments of State, the Treasury, Defence, Justice, Agriculture, Commerce, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, the United States Agency for International Development, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the Export-Import Bank and the United States Trade Representative.

He ordered them to incorporate the protection of the rights of LGBTs in US diplomacy and foreign assistance.

In Section 1 titled, ‘Combating Criminalisation of LGBT Status or Conduct Abroad’, Obama directed the agencies "to strengthen existing efforts to effectively combat the criminalisation by foreign governments of LGBT status or conduct and to expand efforts to combat discrimination, homophobia, and intolerance on the basis of LGBT status or conduct."

The implication is that the agencies would have to take necessary steps, including sanctions and suspension or withdrawal of existing or fresh aid and assistance to Nigeria and any country involved in the criminalisation of LGBTs.

The second section titled, ‘Protecting Vulnerable LGBT Refugees and Asylum Seekers’, states, " Those LGBT persons who seek refuge from violence and persecution face daunting challenges. In order to improve protection for LGBT refugees and asylum seekers at all stages of displacement, the Departments of State and Homeland Security shall enhance their ongoing efforts to ensure that LGBT refugees and asylum seekers have equal access to protection and assistance, particularly in countries of first asylum. In addition, the Departments of State, Justice, and Homeland Security shall ensure appropriate training is in place so that relevant Federal Government personnel and key partners can effectively address the protection of LGBT refugees and asylum seekers, including by providing to them adequate assistance and ensuring that the Federal Government has the ability to identify and expedite resettlement of highly vulnerable persons with urgent protection needs."

A country of first asylum is one in which an asylum seeker has been granted international protection as an asylum seeker or a refugee.

In Sec. 4, ‘Swift and Meaningful U.S. Responses to Human Rights Abuses of LGBT Persons Abroad’, the US president directed the Department of State to "lead a standing group, with appropriate interagency representation, to help ensure the Federal Government’s swift and meaningful response to serious incidents that threaten the human rights of LGBT persons abroad."

As if anticipating a rash of lawsuits around the world on the memo, Obama added a caveat, "This memorandum is not intended to, and does not, create any right or benefit, substantive or procedural, enforceable at law or in equity by any party against the United States, its departments, agencies, or entities, its officers, employees, or agents, or any other person."

‘No possibility of US/Nigeria rift’

Reacting to the development, the Director-General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs, Prof. Bola Akinterinwa, said he did not foresee any diplomatic tussle between Nigeria and the United States on the account of the memo.

He described the bill as part of the country’s ‘municipal law’ which he said was different from international law.

According him, the municipal laws of a country are meant to be obeyed by all agencies and persons residing in the country where such laws are in operation. He said anybody, including foreign envoys, who contravenes the municipal laws can be convicted.

He said, "There is no problem there at all. First of all America has laws, Nigeria has laws. Those laws constitute what they call municipal laws. Municipal laws are quite different from international laws. International laws are also referred to as law of nations. The International law is the one governing all the nations of the world, whereas the municiapal laws govern the affairs of each country.

"If Obama is asking US agencies to promote gay rights or lesbian rights, they can do so. There is no problem as long as they will not infringe on the municipal law of their host countries. If they do, they will be tried based on the municipal law and they will be guilty."

Senate insists on anti-gay law

Meanwhile, the Senate said on Tuesday that Obama’s orders would not change its position.

Reacting to the memo, Leader of the Senate, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba (SAN), said Nigeria remained a sovereign state that would not pander to the cultures of any foreign country.

Asked if the passage of the bill would not create a diplomatic row between both countries, Ndoma-Egba said, "Nigeria is an independent nation; we are a sovereign state. We have our own values. We are not going to tie our indigenous values with the values to other nations."

He said it was necessary for Nigeria to focus on making laws for the good governance of its people, rather than get influenced by other nations on how to make laws or what laws to make for its people.

"How many states in the US have legalised same sex marriage? Why can’t they start from inside their own country before going out to other countries," he said.

Canada and the US Embassy in Nigeria had last weekend deplored the Senate’s passage of the bill.

British Prime Minister, David Cameron, had also threatened to suspend aid to countries engaged in the criminalisation of LGBTs rights.

However, during the debate on the bill, Senate President David Mark had declared that Nigerians would not trade their values for aid.

"If there is any country that does not want to give us aid or assistance just because we want to hold on to our values, that country can keep her aid and assistance," he said.

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