Amnesty International hails Ghana for abolishing death penalty

Amnesty International, a global human rights group has hailed Ghana's Parliament for passing an amendment to the Criminal and Other Offences Act, 1960 to repeal death sentencing as a significant step forward.

Samira Daoud, the West and Central Africa Director for Amnesty International asserts that President Akufo-Addo must act swiftly to get the bill into law.

She said, “It is a major step by Ghana towards the abolition of the death penalty”.

“Now that the 2022 Criminal Offences (Amendment) Bill and 2022 Armed Forces (Amendment) Bill have been passed by Parliament, President Nana Akufo-Addo should, without delay, sign them into law, commute all death sentences to prison terms, and establish an official moratorium on executions.

“Amnesty International is also calling on the Ghanaian authorities to take steps to remove the death penalty from the Constitution. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases without exception because it violates the right to life as proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The death penalty is the ultimate cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment which has no place in our world,” Samira Daoud stated.

The Ghanaian Parliament presided over by Speaker Alban Kingsford Sumana Bagbin, has overseen legislative efforts to replace the death penalty with life imprisonment.

Francis Xavier Sosu, the Member of Parliament for the Madina constituency who passionately championed the bill, celebrated the monumental achievement, stating, "This is a tremendous advancement for Ghana's human rights record."