UN opposes use of the death penalty

Annually, the World Day Against the Death Penalty is commemorated on October 10 to highlight the plight of those who have been denied the right to life, by the criminal justice system. This year’s  theme is: ‘Access to Counsel: A matter of life or death.

The right to be represented in court by a lawyer is a fundamental human right for everyone facing trial, but particular for those accused of offences, which on conviction, attract the penalty of death.

For such persons, it is not just important, but vital that they are represented by the most competent lawyers available.  For them, the quality of legal representation available can make a difference between receiving the punishment of death or another custodial sentence, between life and death.  

In Uganda, persons charged with offences punishable by death, are entitled to a lawyer, and if they cannot afford one, the State provides one free of charge under the State Brief Scheme.

However, also because of the low remuneration associated with the State Brief Scheme, the lawyers that provide legal assistance to persons liable to the punishment of death, are often young and inexperienced, and therefore unable to provide their clients with the most vigorous, experienced searching defence they need.  

The UN opposes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. In the view of the UN Secretary-General, all measures taken by States towards limiting the application of, or abolishing the death penalty, constitute progress in the protection of the right to life and are important steps towards the universal abolition of the death penalty.

The Secretary-General has noted that there is little evidence that the death penalty has an impact on reducing levels of crime, and that where public support for it exists, it is based on a misconception that the death penalty acts as a deterrent to serious crime. 

Uganda has not carried out any executions in the last 15 yearsda ratified the ICCPR in 1995, it has not signed or ratified the Second Optional Protocol aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. 

The International Criminal Court (ICC), the first permanent court established under the Rome Statute , to investigate and bring to justice individuals who commit the most serious violations of international humanitarian law, namely war crimes, crimes against humanity, genocide and, once defined, aggression, can impose up to 30 years or life imprisonment when so justified by the gravity of the case, but does not impose a death penalty.

A stand, which is fully consistent with international human rights standards. 
Speaking alongside Andrew Gilmour, then Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, at an event at the UN Headquarters, in New York in October 2017, the UN Secretary General António Guterres underscored that “The death penalty has no place in the 21st Century”.

At regional level, the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (ACHPR) has urged retentions states to legally abolish the death penalty or consider a moratorium on its use.

In 2015, after considering the 5th periodic report of Uganda, the ACHPR made a specific recommendation on the “adoption of an official moratorium on the death penalty as a step towards the definitive abolition of the death penalty.”

Though it has not formally abolished the death penalty, commendably Uganda has not carried out any executions in the last 15 years, putting it on the list of countries that have a de facto moratorium on executions.

The landmark Constitutional Court’s judgment in the case of Suzan Kigula vs Attorney General and the recent enactment of the Law Revisions (Penalties in Criminal Matters) Miscellaneous Amendment Act, 2019, which have removed what was the mandatory punishment of death from the various laws of Uganda, are milestones towards abolition of the death penalty.

By removing provisions regarding the mandatory imposition of the death penalty, Uganda has taken a significant step, in line with its obligations under the ICCPR, and the aspirations set out under the UN General Assembly resolution on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

These are laudable achievements. OHCHR encourages Uganda to consider starting a dialogue on the abolition of the death penalty and to develop new sentencing guidelines to allow Courts to issue sentences other than life imprisonment for capital offences.

Similarly, the enactment of the Legal Aid Bill, which among other issues seeks to provide for easy access to free legal services to the marginalised, needs to be a priority.

OHCHR Uganda is fully committed to supporting relevant stakeholders in moving forward these commendable achievements.