British Prime Minister Theresa May on Tuesday called on Nigeria and other countries whose laws prohibit same-sex marriage to revoke it, describing such laws as outdated. The British leader made the call while addressing leaders at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting on Tuesday in London Promising her country’s support for any country that revokes the law, May said three countries that had earlier made such laws recently revoked them.
“Recent years have brought welcome progress. The three nations that have most recently decriminalised same-sex relationships are all Commonwealth members, and since the heads of government last met, the Commonwealth has agreed to accredit its first organisation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people,” she said.
“Yet there remains much to do. Nobody should face persecution or discrimination because of who they are or who they love. And the UK stands ready to support any Commonwealth member wanting to reform outdated legislation that makes such discrimination possible, because the world has changed. When, in 1953, the newly-crowned Queen Elizabeth set off on a tour of the Commonwealth, she travelled by air, sea and land on a journey that took more than five months.
“Today, many members of the Youth Forum have only ever known a time in which they can instantly converse with one another regardless of where in the world they live. “Unlike previous generations, today’s young people don’t need an organisation like the Commonwealth to connect them. They can build their own bridges, forge their own links, mastermind and run their own campaigns.
“If the Commonwealth is to endure in such a world, we must demonstrate our relevance and purpose anew. We must show what the Commonwealth is capable of and this summit can be the moment where that change begins to happen.” Nigeria is one of the countries where same-sex marriage is forbidden.
