| AFRICAN UNION | AFRICAN UNION | |
|---|---|---|
| الاتحاد الأفريقي African Commission on Human & Peoples' Rights | UNIÃO AFRICANA African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights | |
| Nº 31 Bijilo Annex Lay-out, Kombo North District, Western Region, P. O. Box 673, Banjul, The Gambia Tel : Tel: (+220) 441 05 05 / +220) 441 05 06; E-mail: au-banjul@africa-union.org/africancommission@yahoo.com; Web www.achpr.org |
INTERSESSION ACTIVITY REPORT
(October 2023 - May 2024)
-Presented by
THE HONOURABLE COMMISSIONER IDRISSA SOW CHAIRPERSON OF THE WORKING GROUP ON THE DEATH PENALTY, EXTRAJUDICIAL, SUMMARY OR ARBITRARY KILLINGS AND ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN AFRICA
79th Ordinary session of the ACHPR
Banjul, The Gambia, 14 May to 3 June 2024
INTRODUCTION
- This report is submitted in accordance with Rules 25 (3) and 64 of the Rules of Procedure 2020 of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (the Commission) and section 3 (d) of the Rules Governing the Establishment and Functioning of the Special Mechanisms of the Commission. It covers the activities carried out during the intersession period from October to May 2024.
- The report is divided into four chapters. Chapter I provides an overview of the situation of the death penalty, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings and enforced disappearances in Africa. Chapter II covers the activities carried out in my capacity as Chairperson of the Working Group on the Death Penalty, Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary killings and Enforced Disappearances in Africa (Working Group) and as a member of other special mechanisms; Chapter III covers the activities carried out in my capacity as Commissioner and Country Rapporteur; and finally Chapter IV is devoted to conclusions and recommendations.
Chapter I: Situation of the death penalty, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings and enforced disappearances in Africa
A. Death penalty
- During the reporting period, the number of abolitionist countries remained unchanged: 24 of the 55 of the African Union Member States have abolished the death penalty for all crimes¹, 4 for ordinary crimes² and 15 have a moratorium on executions³. During the same period, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) decided to lift the moratorium on executions that had been in place since 2003. This new situation continues to be of great concern to our Working Group.
- The Working Group remains deeply concerned about the retention and application of the death penalty in certain countries, most of which are confronted with serious dysfunctions in their judicial systems, which, of course, lead to obvious risks of error in the application of the death penalty.
¹ Angola, Benin, Burundi, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Côte d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Togo, Zimbabwe.
² Burkina Faso, Ghana, Equatorial Guinea, Zambia.
³ Algeria, Cameroon, Eritrea, Eswatini, Gambia, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Niger, Sahrawi Arab Democratic Republic, Tanzania, Tunisia.