The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) on Saturday, 10 October, called on African states still carrying out executions to halt the practice, as the world marked World Day Against the Death Penalty.

The call was made under this year’s theme, “Humanising People Affected by the Death Penalty.”

According to Amnesty International, 13 African countries retain the death penalty in both law and practice, with executions carried out in Egypt, Somalia and South Sudan in 2025.

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South Africa, which abolished the death penalty in 1995, is one of 24 African countries that have fully done so.

The Commission said the theme focused on recognising every person’s dignity without denying the gravity of crimes or the suffering of victims.

The Commission said persons sentenced to death are often subjected to harsh conditions of detention, isolation and the constant anguish of execution. It noted that prolonged detention on death row may cause profound psychological suffering and raise concerns about compliance with the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment or treatment.

It also noted that the families of persons sentenced to death, particularly children, may experience stigma, psychological suffering and economic hardship.

The Commission said it was concerned about the retention of the death penalty in several African states, particularly given the risks of irreversible miscarriages of justice, discriminatory application and violations of fair trial guarantees.

The Commission also recognised the right of victims to justice. It said criminal justice responses must take into account the rights of victims without causing a further irreversible violation of the right to life, and that a human rights-based approach to justice must reconcile criminal accountability, the protection of society and the dignity of every person.

It called on states to temporarily halt executions, commute existing death sentences to lesser penalties, undertake reforms aimed at full abolition across the continent, and ensure humane detention conditions for those on death row. It also called on states to provide psychological, social, economic and legal support to victims and their families.

The Commission also called on African Union member states to support the adoption of the Draft Protocol to the African Charter on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Africa.

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