UPR Sexual Rights Database

National Report:
Para 108) In the area of HIV/AIDS control:
a) The Federal Government in 2012 signed the implementation plan for the framework partnership with the United States Government and commenced the decentralization of ART services to the primary health care level. The Ministry of Health is an implementing partner under the Global Funds Round 8. Under this grant, PHC health workers are being trained on voluntary counseling and testing, prescription and administration of anti-retroviral drugs and general care of persons living with HIV/AIDS.

National Report:
Para 60) Section 42 (1) of the Constitution prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender by stating that a citizen of Nigeria of a particular sex. Similarly, section 17 (3) (e) of the Constitution provides that there is equal pay for equal work without discrimination on account of sex, or on any other ground. The Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill seeks to ensure equal opportunities and treatment of women and men.
Para 62) The Government of Nigeria is committed to guaranteeing equal access to political, social and economic opportunities for women and men. Consequently, government has established the lead national and state gender machineries; the Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development and Ministries of Women Affairs in the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory. Government has also embarked on numerous programmes to boost women’s economic empowerment. Some of these are: Business Development Fund for Women (BUDFOW) and National Women Empowerment Fund.
Para 63) The Federal Ministry of Women Affairs and Social Development, in partnership with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Industry (BOI) have provided financial empowerment to women through their various initiatives, such as Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Fund as well as the Agricultural Financing Scheme.

UN Compilation:
Para 14) Referring to the relevant recommendations from the previous review, the United Nations country team noted that in March 2016, the eighth Senate had rejected the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill and that a revised version of the Bill was currently under consideration. The country team considered the implementation of those recommendations to be ongoing.
Para 39) The Special Rapporteur on minority issues was concerned that, despite the relevant role played by women, particularly minority women, in civil society initiatives, during her visit in 2014, she had encountered hardly any women participating in Government and political leadership. Para 40) CEDAW remained concerned that women were still underrepresented in the National Assembly, in senior leadership positions in the diplomatic service and at the ministerial level. ….
Para 41) The Special Rapporteur on minority issues noted that minorities, particularly minority women, were poorly represented in political life at all levels, especially in state and local governments.
Para 51) [CEDAW] noted the efforts to promote women’s economic empowerment and social welfare, including through the adoption of the Social Insurance Trust Fund Act, in 2012, and the Pension Reform Act, in 2014.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 51) … JS16 stated that, despite several efforts, the legislation for gender equality in political participation had not been followed-up by any effort for implementation.

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 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 12) CEDAW expressed concern that the prohibition of discrimination in section 42 of the Constitution did not comprise a comprehensive definition of discrimination in line with article 1 of the CEDAW.
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 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 24) The executive arm of government has engaged with the Principal Officers of the National Assembly and State Houses of Assembly with a view to accelerating the process of passing into law all human rights-based bills.

Para 25) The Government is making efforts to ensure the enactment into law pending human rights related bills before the National Assembly within the tenure of this administration as a demonstration of its commitment to the promotion and protection of human rights in Nigeria.

UN Compilation:
Para 3) In 2012, Nigeria reported in follow-up to the concluding observations of CEDAW, that the Convention was yet to be incorporated into national law, but that there were ongoing consultative efforts to pave the way for such incorporation.

Stakeholder Summary:
Para 1) NHRC stated that since its Universal Period Review, Nigeria has acceded to and/or ratified key human rights instruments. However, most of these treaties were yet to be enacted into domestic legislation.

Para 12) HRAN referred to those recommendations in paragraph 103.2 of the Report and stated that a number of human rights bills including the Gender and Equal Opportunities Bill ... remained pending before the National Assembly.

Para 15) DD stated that Nigeria was a party to ICESCR and CEDAW but that those instruments were yet to be incorporated into national law.