-As INCHR observes International Day Against Death Penalty
By Mark N. Mengonfia, mmenginfia@gmail.com
Independent National Commission on Human Rights has commemorated what is known as International Day against Death Penalty, Western diplomats as well as national and international groups in Monrovia send out pleads to the Liberian government to abolish the act.
The calls were made on Tuesday at an event making the International Day against Death Penalty held at the University of Liberia Campus in the Liberia Capital.
Delivering a keynote address at program, European Union Ambassador, Helene Cave said: “We call on Liberia to move forward towards the abolition of death penalty in its law and join the group of more than 100 countries that have already do so.”
Giving a statistic about countries that abolished death penalty from their laws, the EU Ambassador said there is a worldwide trend towards abolition of death penalty, between 1993 and 2018, the number of countries that abolished the death penalty in their law for all crimes, grew considerably.
She informed the gathering of civil society organizations, student leaders, lecturers and government officials who graced the event that at the end of 2018, 106 countries had abolished the death penalty in their law and 142 countries had abolished it in their law or practice.
“84 countries including Liberia, were party to Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty,” the EU Ambassador stressed.
“Death Penalty leaves children with heavy emotional and psychological burden that can amount to the violation of their human rights. One of such violations is stigmatization from the community in which they live. Stigma and loss of a parent at the hands of a state may reinforce deep instability in the life child. Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders and thinkers,” Amb. Cave said.
The event making the International Day against Death Penalty was organized by the Independent National Commission on Human Rights in collaboration with the Civil Society organizations working in the area of human rights and the Liberia National Bar Association. It was observed under the theme “Children, the Unseen Victims.”
Also speaking was Charles Lawrence, Program Officer Governance and Human Rights at the Swedish Embassy and he proxy for Swedish Ambassador, Ingrid Wetteqvist.
Reading a prepared text from Ambassador Wetteqvist, Mr. Lawrence described the death penalty as an inhuman and degrading punishment contrary to the right to life.
The Swedish Ambassador said through her proxy that, “death penalty means revenge, not justice, and it abolition contributes to enhancement of human dignity.”
Additionally, he indicated that “Sweden abolished the death penalty almost a 100 years ago91921) when in times of peace and 50 years ago (1976) when in time of war. Liberia should join this movement”
He on behalf of his boss said that it should not be forgotten that the death penalty is irreversible indicating that even in the best judicial system, mistakes can be made, and innocent people can be wrongly judged.
As part of the event, a panel discussion was held taking a close look at the children whose parents fall victims to death penalty.
Although the death penalty is still on the books in Liberia, it has not been carried out in the country’s civil jurisprudence sine the administration of the late President William R. Tolbert, Jr. in the 1970s. At the time, a number of murder convicts were executed by hanging, including a relative of Tolbert.