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FM AMEMBASSY NIAMEY
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INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHVV/ISLAMIC CONFERENCE COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L NIAMEY 000574 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY (CAPTION ADDED) 
 
DEPT. FOR AF/W, BACHMAN 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/07/2016 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KPAO SOCI KWMN NG
SUBJECT: HEAVY ABSENTEEISM AS NIGERIEN ASSEMBLY REJECTS 
WOMEN'S RIGHTS MEASURE 
 
REF: 05 NIAMEY 1434 
 
Classified By: POLITICAL OFFICER ZACH HARKENRIDER FOR REASON 1.4 (B) 
 
¶1. (U) In an evening vote on the last day of its spring 
session, the Nigerien National Assembly, on June 3rd, 
rejected a bill for the ratification of the Additional 
Protocol to the African Human and People's Rights Charter 
relating to Women's Rights in Africa. The additional protocol 
was adopted in Maputo, Mozambique on July 11, 2003. Of the 
Assembly's 113 Deputies, only 77 were present. In a vote that 
bore no relation to party affiliation, 42 deputies voted no; 
31 yes; and 4 abstained. Of the 14 women deputies in the 
National Assembly, only 8 were present for the vote, though 
all voted yes. The measure's principal effect on Nigerien 
family law would have been to raise the legal marriage age to 
¶18. Under Nigerien law, a girl deemed to be "sufficiently 
mature," may marry as young as 15. 
 
¶2. (C) The Government of Niger (GON) supported ratification 
of the protocol, but its floor management appears to have 
been weak. While the vote on the protocol was originally 
scheduled for the 31st, it was postponed to the 3rd at the 
last minute. The ruling Nigerien Movement for a Developing 
Society (MNSD) and its coalition partners failed to get their 
deputies to the floor in large numbers. COMMENT: Given the 
influence and conservatism of many Nigerien religious leaders 
and traditional chiefs, this negligence may have been 
deliberate. The schedule change on the vote may have been 
designed to allow members to claim that pre-existing travel 
commitments made it impossible for them to take part in the 
debate, thus sparing some deputies an uncomfortable on-record 
choice between the GON's stated position and that of 
conservative constituents and local power-brokers. Attending 
a post-closure reception, Western Diplomats encountered 
several deputies who were present for the party, but not for 
the vote. END COMMENT 
 
¶3. (C) Niger's history with international conventions on 
women's rights has been a colorful one. According to Post's 
contacts, the decision to become a party to the 1979 UN 
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination 
against Women was taken by a military government that ruled 
the country for 9 months following a coup d'etat in 1999. 
Former Minister for Social Development (and current GON 
Foreign Affairs Minister) Aichatou Mindaoudou allegedly 
convinced the GON to sign - albeit with reservations - during 
this turbulent interregnum. The convention's optional 
protocol was ratified in 2004, and Nigerien women's rights 
associations have been pressing the GON to waive its 
reservations and become a full party to the convention ever 
since. FM Mindaoudou, a French trained jurist, has often been 
a progressive force on women's issues and the application of 
international treaties and conventions. For her role on 
cultural issues, she is reviled by many conservative clerics. 
Perhaps to avoid galvanizing the opposition to the treaty, 
Mindaoudou stayed away from Saturday's debate and vote, even 
though, as FM, she would generally have been called upon to 
present the GON's case in support of any international 
agreement. In Mindaoudou's absence, that task fell upon 
Madame Ousmane Zeinabou Moulay, Minister of Women's Promotion 
and Children's Protection, who spoke in support of the treaty 
before it was referred to a floor debate and voice vote. 
 
¶4. (C) COMMENT: The GON usually wins its fights in the 
National Assembly. In fact, the additional protocol was the 
only piece of GON sponsored legislation rejected outright by 
deputies this year. However, the fact that the GON did not 
secure the protocol's passage may or may not signal a lack of 
will. As noted above, by shifting the vote to a Saturday 
evening just hours before the close of the session, the GON 
may have sought a quiet death for a controversial measure. It 
may also have been nothing more than a snafu. In any event, 
the protocol's rejection is a blow to the Nigerien women's 
rights associations who are working to secure ratification of 
additional treaty commitments on the issue. In a larger 
sense, this vote underscores how difficult other culturally 
sensitive legal reforms may be. While there was no party line 
to the vote, there was a geographic divide, with most of the 
measure's support coming from urban deputies. As noted 
reftel, support for progressive cultural measures remains 
concentrated among well-educated urban professionals and does 
not yet extend into the country-side where 85% of Nigeriens 
live. 
 
¶5. (C) A group of international donors led by the Danish 
cooperation agency Danida has been working for over a year to 
change that dynamic. They seek to build support for a secular 
family code addressing issues such as divorce, marriage, and 
inheritance (reftel A). The National Assembly's reaction to 
the additional protocol may give advocates of such systemic 
 
 
reform pause. However, the GON still has a chance to win on 
this issue, and there are indications that it may try to do 
so in the next legislative session. In a conversation with 
Post's Political Assistant on June 5, the National Assembly 
Legislative Director stated that his office intended to 
re-write the "statement of purpose," - essentially an 
executive summary of a piece of legislation on which most 
members base their decisions - attached to the additional 
protocol to better convince members to support it. Likewise, 
the GON's spokesman, Minister of Institutional Relations 
Mohammed Ben-Omar, expressed the government's disappointment 
with the result of the vote, and stated that it was a step 
back for Niger. If the GON matches such rhetoric with action 
by re-introducing the protocol when the National Assembly 
re-convenes in October, and demonstrates defter floor 
management in the legislature, it could show laudable 
political courage and a real commitment to women's rights. 
END COMMENT 
ALLEN