UPR Sexual Rights Database

UN Compilation:
Para 28) The Special Rapporteurs on health, on sale of children and on slavery noted that Boko Haram had used widespread abductions of girls and boys as a part of its insurgency strategy.
Para 47) CEDAW was concerned that while sections 218 and 357 of the Criminal Code protected girls under 13 years of age from forced sexual intercourse, section 6 excluded the applicability of those provisions to girls of the same age in customary law marriages.
Para 74) In 2017, the Secretary-General stated that Boko Haram had used children in direct hostilities and as human shields to protect its elements during military operations. Many children had also been subjected to forceful religious conversion and forced marriage and used for sexual purposes. The Special Rapporteurs on health, on sale of children and on slavery stated that girls had been subjected to sexual violence and used as sexual slaves by insurgents, which had resulted in many becoming pregnant.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 47) JS3 stated that although Nigeria supported a recommendation from the previous review to protect children from forced conversion, such a practice had continued, particularly in Shari’a states, where non-Muslim girls had experienced abduction, forced conversion and forced marriage. Local Islamic institutions through the enforcement of traditional rules had often been complicit in those violations.

National Report:
Para 64) Section 42 of the Constitution guarantees and protects the rights of women from discrimination. Under section 46 (1) of the Constitution, women who are victims of violence and discrimination may apply to a High Court for redress by way of fundamental rights enforcement proceedings in the event of the application of any law that allows violence and discrimination against them. In addition, government enacted the Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act.
Para 65) The Act seeks to eliminate violence in private and public life, prohibit all forms of violence including physical, sexual, psychological, domestic, harmful traditional practices, discriminations against persons and to provide maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders. Under the ACJA, women can now stand as sureties for any applicant or defendant for the purpose of admitting the person to bail. Hitherto this was not possible.

UN Compilation:
Para 46) CEDAW was concerned that, under section 26 (2) (a) of the Constitution, Nigerian women married to foreign men could not transmit their nationality to their husbands, unlike Nigerian men married to foreign women. It was also concerned that section 29 (4) (b) on citizenship renunciation legitimized child marriage, as it recognized any woman who was married to be of full age for the purposes of renunciation of citizenship.
Para 47) CEDAW was concerned that while sections 218 and 357 of the Criminal Code protected girls under 13 years of age from forced sexual intercourse, section 6 excluded the applicability of those provisions to girls of the same age in customary law marriages.
Para 48) [CEDAW] was also concerned that no specific measures had been taken to eradicate polygamous relationships.
Para 49) [CEDAW] remained concerned about discriminatory provisions in the Labour Act (1990), the Factories Act (1987) and the Police Regulations (1968), which prohibited the employment of women in night work and the recruitment of married women to the police and required women police officers to make a written request for permission to marry.
Para 73) [CEDAW] was concerned that women owned less than 7.2 per cent of the total land mass in Nigeria and that their land rights in rural areas were not guaranteed.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 10) JS8 stated that … Nigeria had continued to allow the violation of the rights of the LGBT population, despite its obligations to protect those rights arising from several international human rights conventions to which it was a party.
Para 11) JS5 recalled that Nigeria had not supported any of the recommendations from the previous review that inter alia related to the repealing of those laws that discriminated based on sexual orientation and gender identity.16 Certain provisions in the Criminal Code, Penal Code and the National Law and Drug Enforcement Act had disproportionately affected gay men, … The Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act had negative consequences beyond the deprivation of marriage rights for gay men and women. JS5 stated that, under Sharia law the penalty for homosexuality was death. The Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act of 2015, had done little to protect gay men, female sex workers and intravenous drug users as vulnerable populations. AFA stated that the Act was yet to be incorporated into domestic legislation in all states.
Para 12) JS8 stated that expansive provisions of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act had served to codify homophobia and transphobia. JS12 stated that the Act, which generally criminalized same sex relationships, had created additional criminal offences that targeted persons based on their sexual orientation. JS8 stated that the Act had effectively legalized discrimination and had allowed people to act with impunity. Since its enactment there had been an increase in crimes and human rights violations against LGBT persons and their defenders. JS13 stated that the Act and other discriminatory laws had been used to subject the LGBT community to violations including invasion of privacy, assault and battery, black mail and extortion, denial of access to amenities and education.
Para 13) Referring to a relevant study, JS12 noted a significant increase in fear in seeking healthcare services by men who had sex with men after the enactment of the Same Sex Marriage (Prohibition) Act (2014). JS13 stated that sections 5(2) and (3) of the Act had hindered access to Anti-Retroviral Vaccines, HIV testing and counselling services. JS8 stated that LGBT persons had experienced difficulties in accessing health care services. The denial of such services would have a negative impact on Nigeria’s progress towards HIV eradication.
Para 15) JS5 stated that gay men, … had experienced significant discrimination, influenced by traditional culture as well as religious moral values.
Para 64) JS13 stated that LGBT persons had been subjected to forced, violent and arbitrary evictions.
Para 75) JS8 stated that homophobic bullying in schools had proven to be a serious impairment to adequate access to education. There had also been a failure to provide comprehensive and inclusive education on sexual orientation and gender identity in schools.
Para 76) JS15 stated that Nigeria had failed to address traditional practices that had hampered gender equality. Discrimination started even before the birth of a girl. Education of boys had been prioritised over that of girls and girls were denied the right to inherit property.
Para 79) JS13 referred to relevant supported recommendations from the previous review and stated that although there had been enactment of progressive laws, harmful gender norms, cultural practices and discriminatory laws had persisted. In several communities, women had been barred from owning immovable property or from renting a house.

National Report:
Para 13) In specific context, the vision provides, among others, a strategic framework for guaranteeing the well-being and productivity of Nigerians including eradication of extreme poverty ... promotion of gender equality and empowerment of women ...

Para 14) Nigeria is committed to ensuring that respect for all persons irrespective of race, class, disability or gender is guaranteed. Gender equality and women empowerment are basic human rights that form part of Nigeria's Vision 20:2020 and the Transformation Agenda of Government. The strategy adopted in the blueprint for promoting gender equality and women empowerment is by systematic gender mainstreaming in all policies and programmes of government, through the incorporation of the principles laid out in the newly revised National Gender Policy, national laws and other regional and international human rights instruments that support gender equality and women empowerment. There are various gender related bills, currently pending in the National Assembly and government is deploying resources to expedite their passage into law.

Para 114) The Government has put in place policies and measures to eradicate illiteracy through the provisions of qualitative education for Nigerians at all levels. The measures include: institutionalization of the Early Childhood Care Development and Education programme; completion of 80 Tsangaya schools in order to integrate formal educational programme into the quranic school system and the launching of the National Campaign on Access to Basic Education to reduce the number of out of school children; establishment of 12 new universities to enhance access to a federal university in each state of the federation; construction of special girls' schools in 13 states of the federation to improve Girls' Education Programme; establishment of Special Education Intervention Fund of which, the sum of N36 billion has been disbursed to the 36 states and Federal Capital Territory in 2012; establishment of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) in 2011 for the provisions of infrastructure and related facilities of which, N76.7 billion has been disbursed to tertiary institutions; refurbishing 352 science and technical laboratories in 104 Federal Unity Colleges. Government has awarded a total of 101 Presidential Special Scholarships for Innovation and Development (PRESSID) for training in top 25 universities in the world in 2012.

Para 115) Government purchased and distributed instructional and library materials on core subjects to all primary 6 students in public schools, supported the Nomadic Education Programme by constructing and equipping of Nomadic Education Model Centres in grazing reserves; training of 28,000 public primary Head Teachers and support for Girls education Projects.

Para 117) Government is implementing a programme known as the Girl's Education Project (GEP) designed to enhance girl's enrolment and retention in school using strategies such as the Students' Tutoring, Mentoring and Counselling (STUMEC), School Based Management Committee (SBMC), School Based Teacher Development (SBTD) and the Pedagogy Module and Core Subjects Modules.

Para 118) Through the Girls' Education Project, Government embarked on advocacy, sensitization and mobilization programmes which have led to significant increase in the enrolment of girls into public primary schools and junior secondary schools in the educationally disadvantaged states in the federation.

Para 120) There are laws in some states of the federation for retention of girls in school and prohibiting the withdrawal of girls from school for marriage.

National Report:
Para 32) Nigeria continues to support the mechanism of the Universal Peer Review monitoring system. Areas of cooperation between Nigeria and international human rights system of the United Nations since the last review in 2013 include the … submission and successful defence of periodic reports to the Committee on the CEDAW in 2017.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 7) WRAHP stated that Nigeria had ratified CEDAW in 1985 but was yet to fulfil its obligations arising from the Convention. JS10 stated that the incorporation of the provisions of the Convention into the national legislative framework through the enactment of the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill had made little progress.

National Report:
Para 26) Section 34 (1) (a) of the Constitution protects the dignity of human person by stating that every individual is entitled to respect to the dignity of his or her person and accordingly no person shall be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment. Nigeria has implemented this recommendation through the enactment of the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015(VAPPA). This Act eliminates violence in private and public life; prohibit all forms of violence including physical, sexual, psychological, domestic violence; harmful traditional practices; discrimination against persons and provide maximum protection and effective remedies for victims and punishment of offenders.
Para 38) Section 34 (1) (a) of the Constitution protects the dignity of human person by stating that every individual is entitled to respect to the dignity of his or her person and accordingly no person shall be subjected to inhuman or degrading treatment. In addition, the following legislative measures aim at combating harmful cultural practices. Legislative measures: (a) Violence Against Persons (Prohibition) Act 2015; (b) … (d) Prohibition of Child trafficking by the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement and Administration Act 2015;
Para 98) The challenges contained in the second cycle UPR report remain the same, though the current federal and state governments are working very hard to overcome these challenges and several reforms and initiatives are yielding positive results. Some of the main challenges are: … (e) Difficulties in breaking through entrenched mind set on harmful traditional practices affecting the human rights of women and children.

UN Compilation:
Para 8) Referring to the relevant recommendations from the previous review, the United Nations country team stated that Nigeria had given effect to some of its treaty obligations by adopting … the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act (2015).
Para 48) [CEDAW] was also concerned that no specific measures had been taken to eradicate polygamous relationships.
Para 65) The Special Rapporteurs on health, on sale of children and on slavery noted that the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act prohibited all forms of violence and criminalized marital rape, female genital mutilation, forceful ejection from home and harmful widowhood practices. The Special Rapporteurs recommended that Nigeria ensure that the Act was adopted in those states that had yet to do so.
Para 67) Referring to the relevant recommendations from the previous review, the United Nations country team stated that the Violence against Persons (Prohibition) Act prohibited female genital mutilation, which had been banned in 12 of the 36 states. The country team considered the implementation of those recommendations to be ongoing.

National Report:
Para 40) … d) The Launch of a Campaign to End Child Marriage in Nigeria and a National Strategy to End Child Marriage in Nigeria 2017-2021.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 88) JS12 expressed concern about the high rates of child marriage and the need to address the underlying factors that contributed to early marriage. JS16 stated that state legislation on the minimum age of marriage varied from state to state.