Africa: Beacon of hope

LEADING rights group Amnesty International has hailed sub-Saharan Africa as “a beacon of hope” in the campaign to abolish the death penalty.

“Sub-Saharan Africa made great strides in the global fight to abolish the death penalty with a significant decrease in death sentences being imposed across the region,” it said in a report published today.

Its stance contributed to a decline in executions around the world, where nearly 1,000 executions took place last year, four percent fewer than a year earlier, Amnesty International said.

Last year, Guinea became the 20th state in sub-Saharan Africa abolish the death penalty for all crimes, while Kenya abolished the mandatory death penalty for murder.

Burkina Faso and Chad also took steps to repeal this punishment with new or proposed laws.

“The progress in sub-Saharan Africa reinforced its position as a beacon of hope for abolition. The leadership of countries in this region gives fresh hope that the abolition of the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment is within reach,” said Amnesty International’s Secretary General Salil Shetty.

The organization recorded a drop in the number of executing countries across sub-Saharan Africa, from five in 2016 to two in 2017, with only South Sudan and Somalia known to have carried out executions.

While Botswana and Sudan resumed executions in 2018, this “must not overshadow the positive steps being taken by other countries across the region”, Amnesty International said. —