Sub-Saharan Africa helps fight against executions, says Amnesty

The leadership of countries in this region gives fresh hope that the abolition of the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is within reach.

LONDON: Countries in sub-Saharan Africa have boosted the campaign to abolish the death penalty, contributing to a global drop in executions, Amnesty International said.

There was a “positive trend recorded globally”, according to the rights group, which recorded a four per cent drop in executions from 1,032 in 2016 to 993 last year.

Guinea abolished the death penalty for all crimes, while Kenya no longer imposes the mandatory death sentence for murder.

Burkina Faso was also praised by Amnesty for its draft constitution which includes a provision to scrap the death penalty, and Chad for a new penal code which only allows such a sentence in the case of terrorism.

“The progress in sub-Saharan Africa reinforced its position as a beacon of hope for abolition,” said Salil Shetty, Amnesty’s secretary general yesterday.

“The leadership of countries in this region gives fresh hope that the abolition of the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is within reach.”

Twenty countries in the region have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, with Somalia and South Sudan being the only countries to record executions last year compared to five states in 2016.

“The world’s top executioner” continues to be China, the rights group said, with thousands of executions believed to have been carried out – but the figure is guarded by Beijing as a state secret.

Iran has the highest known figure despite an 11% drop on 2016, executing at least 507 people, with at least 31 death sentences carried out in public.

Although Teheran was praised for taking steps last year to reduce the death sentence for drug offences, Amnesty said authorities had breached international law by executing at least five people who were under 18 when their crimes were committed.

Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan were the next highest in terms of executions carried out, while the US moved from seventh to eight place in the global ranking.

The US was noted for putting people on death row who have mental or intellectual disabilities, a criticism also levelled against Japan, the Maldives, Pakistan and Singapore.

Salil Shetty