PRESS RELEASE

Abolition of the death penalty for acts of terrorism in Chad , 

the country becomes the 22nd abolitionist state in Africa

N'Djamena, Paris, 29th April 2020 – On Tuesday 28th April, the Chadian National Assembly unanimously voted to abolish the death penalty for crimes of terrorism. The FIACAT and ACAT Chad welcome this historic decision and continue their advocacy for the irreversible abolition of the death penalty in Chad.

28th April 2020 will remain a memorable date for the Chadian population: that of the National Assembly's vote to abolish the death penalty. This decision is all the more historic because it was taken unanimously during the consideration of a bill on the suppression of acts of terrorism.

According to Salomon Nodjitoloum, President of ACAT Chad: "The abolition of the death penalty for crimes of terrorism is the culmination of the struggle of ACAT Chad and of all the abolitionists in the world. By taking this courageous decision, despite the resurgence of terrorist acts, Chad has joined the worldwide abolitionist trend. However, the struggle for the respect of human rights remains our objective. »

On 8th May 2017, Chad had promulgated a new Criminal Code repealing the death penalty, except for terrorism-related offences. Law N°034 of 5th August 2015 on the suppression of terrorism-related offences continued to apply the death penalty for a significant number of crimes. While no executions or convictions have been recorded in 2019, four persons sentenced in 2018 were still being held on death row in deplorable conditions and kept in a secret location away from other prisoners.

Beyond the excellent news of the abolition of the death penalty in Chad, this is a great victory for Chadian abolitionist civil society, in particular ACAT Chad, which has maintained constant pressure through advocacy with the authorities.


In recent years there has been a resurgence of the death penalty in the context of the fight against terrorism, with many countries around the world retaining the death penalty in their legislation for crimes related to terrorism. Chad, despite being threatened by the jihadist group Boko Haram, is showing that an abolitionist path is possible.

However, the abolitionist struggle does not stop there; it will still be necessary to secure the abolition of the death penalty in Chad in order to avoid any backtracking. This is why the FIACAT and ACAT Chad congratulate the Chadian authorities on this major step forward and call on them to continue their efforts by :

  • enshrining the abolition of the death penalty in the Chadian Constitution;
  • ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty;
  • supporting the draft protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights on the abolition of the death penalty.

 

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