In response to alarming reports that Nigerian gays are being rounded up, arrested, and tortured under a new sweeping anti-LGBT law, Human Rights Campaign President Chad Griffin called on U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to deliver a "strong and provocative American response" to these egregious human rights violations.
Griffin urged Kerry to use "any regulatory, administrative, or statutory means in [the State Department's] arsenal to combat implementation" of Nigeria's anti-gay law. The letter also contained a list of suggested options to consider, including directing the U.S. Embassy to perform in-country refugee processing for persecuted LGBT Nigerians.
"In his 2011 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, President Obama said: 'No country should deny people their rights... because of who they love, which is why we must stand up for the rights of gays and lesbians everywhere,'" Griffin wrote. "Now more than ever, we cannot allow those words to ring hollow."
Click here to read the full letter.
Photo by John Becker.