Govt snubs UN advice on death penalty
Tefo Pheage | Wednesday October 12, 2016 17:52
This despite the fact that the country is expected to report back on progress made since the last Universal Peer Review in the UNHCR in 2018
The said recommendations passed during an interactive dialogue and sponsored by the Republic of Uruguay were examined and supported by Botswana under the representation of the then Minister of Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Dikgakgamatso Seretse.
The recommendation read: “Hold a public debate on the death penalty, in which all the aspects of the issue should be highlighted in a holistic manner, in order to repeal it from the domestic legal order and to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (Uruguay)”.
It was further recommended that, “Meanwhile, Provide information to concerned families, so that they can know in advance the date of execution of their relatives and ensure that the executed persons’ bodies are handed over for private burial (Uruguay)”.
Despite promises, Botswana has not yet held any debate and indications are that there will not be any soon.
At the commemoration of World Day Against Death Penalty on Tuesday, the director of Ditshwanelo, Alice Mogwe called on President Ian Khama to impose a moratorium on capital sentence, as a first step towards abolition.
The issue of death penalty will be put to vote at the 71st session of the UN General Assembly in December 2016.
The European Union, which co-hosted the event with Ditshwanelo reaffirmed their strong and unequivocal opposition to capital punishment in all circumstances and for all cases, further adding that death penalty is incompatible with human dignity.
“It is inhuman and degrading treatment, does not have any proven significant deterrent effect, and allows judicial errors to become irreversible and fatal. Abolition of the death penalty is a distinctive achievement in Europe. It is a prerequisite for membership in the Council of Europe, and the absolute ban of the death penalty under all circumstances is inscribed in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union,” Alexander Baum, EU Ambassador to Botswana and SADC, said.