US senators seek sanctions against Nigeria

Nigerian businesses will no longer enjoy duty-free exports to the US if some American senators had their way.

As many as 10 senators who are members of the Democratic Party have called on President Barack Obama to move against Nigeria and Uganda over anti-gay laws.

President Goodluck Jonathan signed the Nigerian version of the law this year, making it illegal for persons to engage in or promote homosexuality.

The senators, led by  Senator Christopher Murphy (D-Conn), have highlighted a section of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to make their case against Nigeria ─ as well as Uganda, which also enacted similar anti-gay laws.

Côte d’Ivoire, Madagascar, Guinea and Niger have lost AGOA eligibility in the past because of military coups.

AGOA, authorised in 2000, makes big, non-reciprocal incentives for sub-Saharan African countries to expand trade, stimulate economic growth and integrate into the global economy.

These benefits are currently being enjoyed mostly by agricultural and textile exporters, including small and medium scale businesses.

However, the eligibility clause says a beneficiary country must not “engage in gross violations of international recognized human rights”. Gay rights are considered as basic human rights.

The senators argued that anti-gay laws severely limit access to health care, housing, education and freedom of expression.

They wrote, inter alia: “We are deeply concerned over a growing trend of laws and proposed legislation targeting LGBT individuals in Africa, which violates the standards set forth in the African Growth and Opportunity Act. We therefore ask that your Administration review Nigeria and Uganda’s eligibility for AGOA’s trade preference and, if it is determined that those countries are not ‘making continual progress’ in meeting the statute’s requirements, that you take steps to revoke AGOA eligibility to Nigeria and Uganda.”

This is the full text:

The President

The White House

1600 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

Washington, DC 20500

Dear Mr. President,

We write with deep concern over a growing trend of laws and proposed legislation targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) individuals in Africa. These laws, combined with the growing public vitriol by government officials and the media, threaten to usher in an era of widespread oppression of the LGBT community in many African countries. We believe the enforcement of these laws would be a human rights abuse in violation of the standards set forth in the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).

Already this year, both Nigeria and Uganda have enacted laws that impose harsh penalties for homosexual activity and activism on behalf of LGBT people. Despite strong opposition from the United States and many other nations, Nigeria enacted the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Act in January, and one month later, Uganda’s President signed into law the Anti-Homosexuality Act. In Nigeria, the legislation immediately triggered an outbreak of violent anti-gay attacks.

As you know, Uganda and Nigeria are among the countries eligible for AGOA, which has allowed for duty-free treatment of certain imports from sub-Saharan African countries since 2000. Congress passed this law with a clear intention to make the benefits of this non-reciprocal agreement contingent on these countries’ commitment to human rights. AGOA states that a country is only eligible for preferential trade status if that country “does not engage in gross violations of internationally recognized human rights.”

The jurisprudence in the area of international human rights supports respect of sexual orientation and gender identity as human rights. We therefore ask that your Administration review Nigeria and Uganda’s eligibility for AGOA’s trade preference and, if it is determined that those countries are not “making continual progress” in meeting the statute’s requirements, that you take steps to revoke AGOA eligibility to Nigeria and Uganda in accordance with 19 U.S. C. §2466a(a)(3). We believe that the discriminatory anti-LGBT laws in those countries represent a clear violation of human rights and hope that the interagency process charged with AGOA’s annual review will make this recommendation. We further ask that you not restore eligibility until these beneficiary countries have taken steps to eliminate harsh penalties for LGBT persons.

As the International Trade Commission (ITC) correctly stated when AGOA was first passed, “Congress never intended AGOA to be a blank check for all African countries, without regard to performance. It was meant to offer tangible incentives for African governments to improve their political and economic governance, not to underwrite poor policies.” Some of the leaders who promote the benefits of AGOA in their respective countries, including Uganda’s President Yoweri Museveni, are the same leaders now presiding over the deterioration of LGBT rights in Africa. By revoking AGOA eligibility, the United States will be sending a clear message that countries must choose between enjoying the benefits of AGOA and violating the human rights of LGBT individuals. We thank you for your attention to this matter and urge you to act swiftly.

Sincerely,

Christopher S. Murphy, United States Senator

Tammy Baldwin, United States Senator

Martin Heinrich, United States Senator

Richard Blumenthal, United States Senator

Barbara Boxer, United States Senator

Al Franken, United States Senator

Kirsten Gillibrand, United States Senator

Edward Markey, United States Senator

Sherrod Brown, United States Senator

Mark E. Udall, United States Senator