The ACIJLP participates in the celebration of the 11th International Day against the death penalty And calls upon the committee of fifty to amend the constitution and include a constitutional provision to abolish the death penalty in Egypt

Cairo, 10^th October 2013

The ACIJLP participates in the celebration of the 11^th International Day against the death penalty

And calls upon the committee of fifty to amend the constitution and include a constitutional provision to abolish the death penalty in Egypt

On the occasion of the 11^th International Day against the death penalty , Mr. Nasser Amin lawyer and the general director of the ACIJLP and a member of the Committee of fifty is participating in " Parliamentary Seminar on the death penalty in the Middle East and North Africa", organized by the French association " Together Against the Death Penalty – ECPM " in partnership with the French Foreign Ministry , the Senate and the Frensh National Assembly. The events of the seminar will continue throughout 9^th and 10^th October 2013, in the French capital Paris and attended by 40 participants from judges , lawyers and other stakeholders who are concerned with the abolition of the death penalty in Algeria , Egypt, Jordan , Iraq, Lebanon , Libya, Morocco, Moretnania , Palestine and Tunisia.

In the context of the anniversary of the International Day Against the Death Penalty, the ACIJLP expresses its deep concern about the threat of the right to life in Egypt, through the application of the death penalty, especially if we pay attention to the extravagance of the Egyptian legislator in applying the death penalty in many Egyptian legislation, such as the Penal Code, the martial law, drug Act and the arms and Ammunition Act, on the one hand, and the erosion of fair and equitable trial guarantees on the other side. This would make the application of this severe penalty, a grave threat to the right to life.

The ACIJLP seizes  the opportunity of amending the Egyptian constitution which is coinciding with the 11^th International Day against the death penalty and calls upon the Egyptian committee that amend the constitution to include provisions to abolish  the death penalty since it is considered a harsh penalty that threatens the right to life. Moreover, the Egyptian constitution provides for the protection of this penalty, and if this provison is included  it will ensure an effective protection of the right to life.

The ACIJLP also points out that the opportunity to amend the Egyptian constitution at this time, and the inclusion of a provision to abolish the death penalty, will clearly underlines the respect of Egypt to human rights and international obligations and commitments.

It should be noted that it was approved to celebrate the the International Day Against the Death Penalty in 2003  thanks to the internationaWorldl Coalition Against the Death Penalty , which bring together many of the international non- governmental organizations, bar associations, unions , local governments and local bodies all over the world. The organizations that participated in the first international conference against the death penalty (Strasbourg, 2001) approving the celebration of this day through the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty , which aims to strengthen the international dimension of the fight against the death penalty and encourage the establishment of national coalitions , and the organization of joint initiatives and coordinating efforts to gain international support for raising the awareness  of the States that still apply the  death penalty.