Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2002-04-11-Speech-4-144"

Predicate	Value (sorted: default)
rdf:type	lpv_eu:Speech2
dcterms:Date	"2002-04-11"^^xsd:date2
dcterms:Is Part Of	lp_eu:Human rights2
dcterms:Language	"el"^^xsd:language2
lpv:document identification number	"en.20020411.8.4-144"2
lpv:hasSubsequent	lp_eu:2002-04-11-Speech-4-1452
lpv:speaker	lp:Anna Karamanou2
lpv:spokenAs	member; EMPL (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 member; Members from the European Parliament to the Joint Parliamentary Assembly of the Agreement between the African, Caribbean and Pacific States and the European Union (ACP-EU) (2002-02-06--2004-07-19)3 unknown; Panellinio Socialistiko Kinima (1999-07-20--2004-07-19)3 member; Delegation for relations with the countries of south-east Europe (2002-02-07--2004-07-19)3 member; Conference of Committee Chairs (2002-01-21--2004-07-19)3 chair; Committee on Women's Rights and Equal Opportunities (2002-01-21--2004-07-19)3 member_of_the_bureau; PES (2002-01-17--2004-07-19)3 substitute; Committee on Citizens' Freedoms and Rights, Justice and Home Affairs (2002-03-13--2004-07-19)3
lpv:translated text	"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."@en1

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