Judges, lawyers and activists call upon the Arab governments to ratify the Second Protocol on the abolition of the death penalty

Cairo, 12 June 2013

                                                                                              

Judges, lawyers and activists call upon the Arab governments

to ratify the Second Protocol on the abolition of the death penalty

 

             

within the framework of the celebration of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the Arab Center for the Independence of the Judiciary and Legal Profession (ACIJLP) concluded its regional Workshop on "The Role of Judges, Public Prosecutors and Lawyers on Reducing the Application of the Death Penalty in the Arab States" which continued throughout 9, 10 and 11 June 2013 from 9:00 to 4:00 pm in Safeer hotel, Dokki. Many judges, lawyers, law professors and activists in the field of human rights from different Arab countries (Egypt, Sudan, Libya, Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Palestine, Kuwait, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Yemen) participated in the workshop. The participants have reached the following recommendations on the abolition and reduction of the death penalty:

·         Calling upon the Arab governments to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the abolition of the death penalty.

·         Freezing the death sentences issued by military and exceptional courts, and the re-trial of the accused before natural justice, and replaces the death penalty with alternative sanctions, if appropriate.

·         Calling upon legislators in the Arab countries to take the necessary measures on purgation of laws and national legislation which increase the application of the death penalty for criminal acts not commensurate with the seriousness of the death penalty as a harsh penalty, and the development of alternative penalties depriving of freedom for those criminals.

·         Calling upon legislators in the Arab countries to take the necessary measures related to the harmonization of national legislation with international covenants and conventions relevant to the protection of the right to life.

·         Working on activating the fair and equitable trial guarantees according to the relevant international standards through development and activation of educational and training institutes on the development and vocational training for judges, public prosecutors and lawyers to ensure and promote international standards of human rights in all stages of trials.

·         Calling upon civil society institutions to exert and coordinate efforts between these institutions and the media, educational and religious institutions to adopt an enlightened strategy aimed at spreading the culture of tolerance and combating the cultures of violence.

·         working to raise awareness of human rights culture among all persons of society and to ensure that people's knowledge of their rights and freedoms guaranteed by international convents, the constitutions and laws to ensure that knowledge and control of the implementation of the commitments of States.

·         The Workshop addressed international conventions and commitments to protect the right to life such as the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the principles of effective Prohibitions and Investigation of extra-legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions and safeguards to ensure the protection of those facing the death penalty as well as the status of the death penalty in Arab States. The workshop also discussed the stance towards the ratification and accession to relevant convention and covenants, the stance of Islamic law and Christian religion on reducing the application of the death penalty, proposals for gradual abolition of the death penalty and alternative penalties to the death penalty in the Arab states.  in addition to forming working groups on the agreement of national legislation with international conventions, the impact of the extravagance use of penal legislation and national penal procedures in the application of the death penalty, customs and local traditions, the right of defense, the second degree litigation and appeals against sentences.

·         This is the 9th workshop which comes within the framework of the ACIJLP’s activities on the project “Reducing the application of the Death Penalty in the Arab States” which starts in 2010 and continues till the half of 2013, with financial support from the European Union, and includes a number of conferences, workshops, seminars, relevant research papers and training courses relevant to the reduction and abolition of the Death Penalty in the national Arab legislations.

·         It should be noted that the World Day Against the Death Penalty  is approved in 2003 due to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which includes many of the international non-governmental organizations, bar associations, unions, local governments, local bodies and trade unions from all over the world. The organizations that participated in the first international conference against the death penalty (Strasbourg, 2001) approving this day through the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, which aims to strengthen the international dimension of the fight against the death penalty, encourage the establishment of national coalitions, the organization of joint initiatives and coordinating efforts to gain international support to raise the awareness of States that still applying the death penalty.