Karamanou (PSE).
– (EL) Mr President, when democratic procedures were restored in Nigeria
and the country's constitution was adopted in 1999, how could we have imagined
the events which took place two or three years later? The ethnic, religious and
political infighting which has cost thousands of people their lives, and the
restoration of Islamic or Sharia law in the 12 states of the country in which
there is a Muslim majority.
World public opinion was shocked recently
by the sentences of death by stoning passed on women accused of adultery while,
under this extremely fair law, the men of course get off scot-free. The
international outcry and the action taken by the European Parliament, civil
society and the media may have saved their lives at the eleventh hour, but the
issue of violations of women's rights and blatant discrimination on the basis
of sex remains. And the case of Amina Lawal, sentenced by the Islamic
court in Bakori, is still pending.
But the Islamic courts and the
interpretation of Sharia law apart, there are other examples of the unequal,
unfair and inhumane treatment of women, such as sexual mutilation – around 60%
of women in Nigeria are estimated to have suffered this gruesome practice – or
the recognised right of men to mistreat women with impunity or the organised
trafficking in and sexual exploitation of women.
We need to send a very strong message on
all these points to the federal government of Nigeria from this House today,
calling on it to ensure that the country's courts operate in accordance with
international law on human rights and the Charter of Human Rights, which has
even been included in Nigeria's constitution. Above all, we must make clear not
just to the Nigerian government, but anywhere else where Sharia law applies,
that the best defence against intolerance is to strengthen the secular aspects
of the state and legitimate democratic order. We also need to send out a
message that no religious or other tradition or practice can take precedence
over respect for fundamental human rights and the rule of law.
At the same time, we call on the European
Commission, in the run up to the elections in Nigeria in 2003, to provide any
technical assistance Nigeria may need in order to strengthen its legal and
democratic structures and for lawyers and the police to be educated within the
framework of the Cotonou agreement and the resolutions passed by the Joint
ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly.