Following worldwide concern at the sentencing to death by stoning in Nigeria of Amina Lawal, and previously of Safiya Hussaini, a delegation of experts drawn from different legal systems and regions of the world will be in Abuja, Federal State Capital of Nigeria, from 16 to 20 October, on behalf of the Socialist International to address the issue of the application of the new Sharia-based penal codes with the sentences of women like Amina and Safiya which have seized the world's attention, as well as other cases in that country.

The visit of this delegation, which responds to the appeals of many within the socialist movement urging for an end to such practice in Nigeria, is also in line with the International's campaigns to abolish the death penalty and to stop violence against women.

The delegation is composed of Professor Perry Wallace of the Washington College of Law, of the American University, United States of America; Professor Abdelwahab Maami of the Faculty of Juridical, Economic and Social Sciences, of the University Hassan II, Casablanca, Morocco; and Dr. Gabriel Lansky, an Attorney at Law and human rights expert from Austria.

The delegation will meet with Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Kanu Godwin Agabi; Florence Diya Aya, Chair of the House of Representatives Committee for Women's Affairs; Maryam Uwais from the Nigerian Human Rights Commission; the Secretary General and members of the Women's Rights Advancement and Protection Alternative, WRAPA, a women's rights non-governmental organisation which provides legal assistance to women being tried under Sharia law; and, representatives from BAOBAB, a Lagos based organisation for human rights and women's rights. The delegation will also hold talks with officials in Kaduna State in the north of Nigeria where Sharia law is in effect.

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