Rights lobby, EU fault proposed Katiba over death penalty

 

European Union (EU) Delegation Head of Cooperation in Tanzania, Mr Eric Beaume (left), and Plan International Tanzania Country Director Mr Jorgen Haldorsen display a book entitled: ‘Because I am a Girl’ during its launch in Dar es Salaam on Thursday, as part of efforts geared to protect human rights. The EU wants capital punishment be deleted from Tanzanian law books. PHOTO | EMMANUEL HERMAN 

By Katare Mbashiru The Citizen Reporter

In Summary

The EU said, the constitutional review process was the right opportunity to abolish the death penalty and advised that the country should consider the issue further in the next steps.

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Dar es Salaam. The European Union and the Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) have expressed dissatisfaction over the Proposed Constitution retaining provisions supporting death penalty.

The EU said, the constitutional review process was the right opportunity to abolish the death penalty and advised that the country should consider the issue further in the next steps.

“We call on Tanzania to support the Resolution on a moratorium on the use of death penalty which will be put to vote at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in December 2014,” said EU head of Political, Press and Information Section, Ms Luana Reale.

In her statement emailed to The Citizen, Ms Reale said the EU was happy with the Tanzanian civil society organisations working towards the abolition of death penalty in Tanzania for their relentless efforts of awareness raising and campaigning.

“Where death penalty still exists, it was important to make sure that it is applied only for the most serious crimes, with guarantees of fair trial and sparing at least the youth and the mentally disabled,” she said.

The EU welcomed Tanzania’s continued de facto moratorium since 1995 calling for the abolition of death penalty in Tanzania. “We also welcome recent steps taken by the African Union towards the adoption of an Additional Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Abolition of Death Penalty,’’ added Ms Ruale.

The HLRC yesterday insisted yesterday that Article 33 and 95(1)(c) of the proposed constitution were against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that provides for the right to life.

LHRC director of Empowerment and Advocacy, Ms Imelda Urio said apart from the two articles of the proposed Mother Law, amendments should also be made in the penal code to protect human rights.

She was speaking on the World Day against Death Penalty that is marked every October 10. “Capital punishment does not provide for security in the society and studies show that it has never helped in reducing crime worldwide,’’ she said.

Ms Urio added that death penalty was one of the forms of violence, inequality and that it was inhuman, causing immense psychological torture to people who are on death row.

As of December 2013 according to her, 3892 people had been convicted with murder and put on death row. For more than 19 years now, people who were convicted are still languishing in prisons waiting to be hanged.
By: The Citizen