*Ask about the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (signed by the United States but not yet ratified)

*Ask about the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ratified by the United States in October, 1994).

*Ask about the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (signed but not ratified).

*Great News!   The Sharia Court in Nigeria overturned Amina Lawal's death sentence on Thursday, September 24th. The Law and Policy Group, Inc. thanks all of you who signed our letter to the Nigerian President. Amina Lawal had been sentenced to death by stoning because she had a child outside of marriage. Her conviction was overturned at the highest court in Nigeria on the grounds that neither the conviction nor the confession were legally valid.

We delivered a letter to the President of Nigeria supported by over one hundred individuals and organizations protesting the sentence of death by stoning imposed on Ms. Amina Lawal for adultery. We are proud of our efforts. But, she is just one of many women awaiting this fate.

This is the letter The Law and Policy Group, Inc. hand-delivered to the Permanent Representative of Nigeria to the United Nations. It was addressed to The President of Nigeria. 

His Excellency Olusegun Obasanjo
President of the Republic
The Presidency Federal Secretariat Phase II,
Shehu Shagari Way Abuja, Nigeria

Your Excellency:

We are deeply concerned about the troubling effects the Shari'ah based Penal Codes in Northern Nigeria have had on human rights. The Shari'ah codes established death by stoning for adultery. This punishment is a breach of International Human Rights treaties signed and ratified by the Government of Nigeria. We call upon you to take all necessary steps to secure human rights and the rule of law in every part of Nigeria. We ask that the Federal Government of the Republic of Nigeria ensures that women who find like Amina Lawal, sentenced to death by stoning for adultery are not executed under any circumstance.

Members of The Law and Policy Group, Inc. have traveled to Nigeria. We deeply respect the great history of your country as well as its leadership position in Africa and the world. The Law and Policy Group, Inc. calls upon you to consider the international ramifications of allowing such a horrific event to take place and requests that you intervene to stop the death of Amina Lawal and other women in her position.

Sincerely,

Gloria J. Browne-Marshall, Esq.
Executive Director-Counsel
The Law and Policy Group, Inc.