"The abolition of the death penalty in Chad is an opportunity for the country to join a growing number of states that recognise the need to abolish the death penalty to promote respect for human rights. By taking this new step, Chad is leading by example," said Sheila Mwenga Nabachua, FIDH vice president.
In 2014 the government had promised the abolition of the death penalty and introduced a new draft penal code that abolished it completely. However, in 2015, the country was shaken by several terrorist attacks which pushed the government to pass a law permitting the death penalty for crimes of terrorism. In August 2015, 10 prisoners were convicted and executed. In 2017, the new penal code was passed, abolishing the death penalty with the exception of crimes related to terrorism. Following the murder of a Chinese businesswoman in 2018, four men were sentenced to death.
"With the new law adopted by the National Assembly this week, Chad guarantees the respect of the right to life for every citizen, a project that has been ongoing for several years. Following the passage of this law, it is the right moment for Chad to ratify the Second Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which Chad ratified in 1995," said Jacqueline Moudeina, President of ATPDH.
If the draft legislation is signed into law by President Idriss Déby, Chad will become the 22nd member of the African Union to abolish the death penalty. Among the countries of the G5 Sahel, a cooperation framework for security and development, only Burkina Faso has done so, in 2018.
FIDH is a founding member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and a member of its steering committee.