Zambia making great progress in the fight against the death penalty

World news


In the course of last year, the death penalty was formally abolished in four countries: Papua New Guinea, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea and Zambia.

In the latter country, the abolition of the death penalty was an important election promise for the new president, Hakainde Hichilema.

On 23 December, the president wrote on his Facebook page: “During the election campaign, we promised to change all laws that inhibit democratic growth and good governance, human rights and fundamental freedoms. Today we have delivered”.

Thus, Zambia became the 25th country south of the Sahara to abolish the death penalty. The legislation was a holdover from the British colonial government, which lasted until 1964.

The right to life

The 1948 Declaration of Human Rights states that everyone has the right to life, and that no one must be subjected to cruel or inhumane punishment. A country that abolishes the death penalty emphasizes that it takes these rights seriously, according to Amnesty Norway’s political advisor, Gerald Folkvord.

Folkvord believes that such a punishment does not belong in the laws of a country that respects human rights. Even though the country has not executed anyone for 25 years.

– As long as the death penalty exists in the law, there is always a danger that a situation will arise where the authorities will use it again.

Therefore, Folkvord believes that it is only tenable that the death penalty be removed from the legislation entirely. A report by Amnesty International shows that 145 states, more than two-thirds of the world’s countries, have removed the death penalty from legislation or in practice.

145 states, more than two-thirds of the world’s countries, have removed the death penalty from legislation or in practice.

Setting an example

In addition to the abolition of the death penalty being in line with human rights, it also has an important signaling effect.

To Amnesty International, Tigere Chagutah, the organization’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, says that “Zambia’s decision to abolish the death penalty should convince other countries in the region to urgently stop this evil, inhuman and degrading way of punishment”.

That a country chooses to abolish the death penalty sets an important example for other countries, according to Folkvord.

– We see this particularly well in Africa. Only a handful of African countries have executed anyone in recent years, and in 2022 alone, three African countries completely abolished the death penalty.

Increased awareness

Although the fight is going in the opposite direction in some places, such as in Iran, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, the global trend is positive, thanks in part to great local and international involvement. Folkvord and Amnesty are looking forward to future developments.

– The awareness that the death penalty does not solve any problems, but is only a means of revenge or oppression, is spreading. We also see that countries that carry out democratic reforms often get rid of the death penalty, because people do not want state authorities to have this arbitrary power over life and death. We believe that we are moving towards a world where the use of the death penalty will be an exception and a thing of the past.





source

Rate article
Add a comment