The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM)...

The United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) appealed to the Nigerian government to honour its moral and legal obligations to protect the rights and lives of all its citizens - starting with Amina Lawal, a woman sentenced to death by stoning following a conviction on adultery charges. In a news release UNIFEM Executive Director Noeleen Heyzer expressed horror at the sentence and noted that the Nigerian constitution outlawed punishments such as stoning, beheadings and amputations. Nigeria was party to all international conventions on human rights, she added. According to Heyzer, nation states had the power to enforce their constitutions and the responsibility to protect their citizens, including "those like Amina who are poor, uneducated and female". "After three decades of struggle to recognise women's rights as human rights, we acknowledge the complicated interplay of cultural values and power relations involved in the determination of who defines what is or is not a right," Heyzer said. "The rights of those who are poor or of lower social standing do not count less than those who are rich or high-born. The rights of women cannot be valued less than the rights of men. And states are obligated to protect the rights of everyone equally," she added.