World Day Against Death Penalty

World Day Against Death Penalty

“Death is not justice. Capital punishment replaces justice with revenge. This has to be wrong – and it must be stopped”, Marija Pejčinović Burić, The Council of Europe’s Secretary General 

The World Day against the death penalty was established in 2003 by the World Coalition against the Death Penalty, an association of non-governmental organisations. On the 10^th of October, the world observes the World Day Against the Death Penalty. The day unifies the global abolitionist movement, political leaders, lawyers, public opinion leaders to come together to call for the abolition of the death penalty.

The purpose of the day

The aim of this day is to remind the international community to urge all states to abolish the death penalty. This year’s theme ‘The death penalty: An irreversible torture’ is building on the momentum from 2022, focusing on how the death penalty constitutes torture or other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

Message from UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment Dr Alice Jill Edwards and Morris Tidball-Binz, UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or Arbitrary executions

“The deterioration in prisoner’s mental health resulting from extended incarceration under threat of execution has long been characterised as a form of inhuman treatment, as has the near total isolation of those convicted of capital crimes and often held in unlawful solitary confinement. The death penalty is almost impossible to administer while respecting the human rights of the accused’’

The Death Penalty and Torture

The 2022 theme highlighted that the death penalty was a path paved with torture. There is a growing trend in international law to frame the debate about the legality of the death penalty within the context of the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. It cannot be disputed that the imposition of the death penalty inflicts severe pain, mental anguish and suffering on the convicted person. Despite the imposition of the death penalty being through lawful sanctions, it cannot be denied that the suffering also extends to the family and friends of the convicted person.

The UN General Assembly adopted a set of revised standards for the treatment of prisoners known as the Mandela Rules and they explicitly prohibit the use of prolonged or indefinite solitary confinement. Prisoners who are to be hanged are kept on “death row” as they await their final day.  They are kept in solitary confinement and have little or no contact with other prisoners.  They have little opportunity for exercise, their diet is poor and they live in perpetual anxiety until the momentous day arrives. The death row prisoners have no contact with their relatives and this exacerbates their isolation. The link between torture and the death penalty is particularly obvious when considering the living conditions on death row, insufficient access to food, isolation, the restricted number of visits and support from family and relatives.

While the death penalty is currently tolerated by strict international law standards, torture is entirely forbidden and there are no exceptions. It cannot be denied that the cruelty of the death sentence does not lie in the execution but in the dehumanising effects of the lengthy imprisonment, prison conditions and the anxiety of not knowing the execution date.

While Zimbabwe is on an unofficial moratorium on executions and the sentences are regularly commuted to life imprisonment by the President there is still need to abolish the death penalty.

The UN General Assembly has passed nine separate resolutions calling for a global moratorium on executions, the first in 2007 when 104 countries voted in favour (with 54 voting against and 29 abstaining) and the ninth in December 2022, when 125 countries voted in favour (with 37 voting against and 9 abstaining). The UN votes show anti-death penalty sentiment growing steadily worldwide and this is the ample time for Zimbabwe to abolish.

A call to abolish

While Zimbabwe is on an unofficial moratorium on executions and the sentences are regularly commuted to life imprisonment by the President there is still need to abolish the death penalty.  Today, to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty, Veritas continues to call for the death penalty to be abolished in Zimbabwe without delay. Opposing the death penalty does not indicate a lack of sympathy for the murder victims, rather,  it reinforces that life is precious and death is irrevocable. The death penalty is not a viable solution to difficult social problems. If the world is to truly achieve universal human rights, then everyone; the innocent and the guilty alike must be protected from acts of torture and cruelty. Veritas respectfully urges all Members of Parliament who care for human rights to add their voices and their votes in support of the abolition of the death penalty.