By Binta Jaiteh
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) in its 2019 report recommended that the death penalty should be repealed and its reference in the constitution.
It recommended that the draft constitution presents an opportunity for the state to fully align with its commitments under the 2nd Optional Protocol to the ICCPR to prohibit execution and abolish the death penalty.
The NHRC report was presented to Parliament’s Committee on Finance and Public Accounts Committee (FPAC) which did their presentation last Wednesday.
According to the report, section 18 of the 1997 Constitution, guarantees the right of life to the effect that no person shall be deprived of his or her life intentionally except in the execution of a sentence of death imposed by a court of competent jurisdiction in respect of a criminal offense for which, the penalty is death under the laws of the Gambia and which he or she has been lawfully convicted.
The report highlighted that the Gambia ratified the 2nd Optional Protocol to the ICCPR aiming to the abolition of the death penalty and the NHRC commends the government for accepting the recommendation during the 2019 Universal Periodic Review (UPR), to abolish the death penalty in line with her obligation under Article 1 (2) of the 2nd Optional Protocol to the ICCPR.
The report notes that within its mandate guaranteed by Section 12 of the National Human Rights Commission Act 2017, the commission hereby presents this report on the State of Human Rights Protection in The Gambia during the year 2019 by Section 33 of the Act.
The report summarized human rights issues covering broad categories with subsections including, respect for the integrity of the person, respect for civil liberties, the rights of women, the rights of Persons with Disabilities, the rights of children and their protection from all forms of abuse, discrimination, violence, and other rights violations.
The 2019 report of the commission aimed to provide an update on the state of human rights in The Gambia with a focus on rights.
