The
United Nations’ Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed deep concern on
Wednesday at a new Nigerian law that criminalises same-sex relationships, which
he fears could fuel prejudice and violence and risks obstructing an effective
HIV/AIDS response.
The
bill, which contains penalties of up to 14 years in prison and bans gay
marriage, same-sex “amorous relationships” and membership of gay rights groups,
according to Punch, was passed by the National Assembly last May and
signed into law by President Goodluck Jonathan on Monday.
“The
Secretary-General fears that the law may fuel prejudice and violence, and notes
with alarm reports that police in Northern Nigeria have arrested individuals
believed by the authorities to be homosexuals, and may even have tortured
them,” Ban’s press office said in a statement quoted by Reuters.
As
in much of sub-Saharan Africa, anti-gay sentiment and persecution of
homosexuals is rife in Nigeria, so the new legislation is likely to be popular.
Many African countries are seeking to tighten laws against homosexuality.
Under
existing Nigerian federal law, sodomy is punishable by jail, but this bill
legislates for a much broader crackdown on homosexuals and lesbians, who
already live a largely underground existence.
“As UNAIDS and the Global Fund noted in a statement yesterday, the law
also risks obstructing effective responses to HIV/AIDS,” Ban said.
1 comment:
When a doctor that heals a disease in a patient starts reasoning that the disease is part of patient then that means he (doctor) himself has been infected. May God save the world.
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