Newsletter

1. African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR)

The ACHPR is a quasi-jurisdictional body, within the framework of the African Union, whose main function is to protect and promote human and peoples’ rights in African countries. Among its functions are to process complaints from individuals or States about human rights violations committed by States in the region, and to receive periodic reports from States on the human rights situation in their country.

– On May 3, 2024, the ACHPR published its statement on the catastrophic floods in Kenya, in which more than 200 people have died and another 150,000 have been displaced.

In Nairobi, more than 30,000 people saw their homes demolished by the government as
part of a plan to evacuate those at risk. Source: NPR.

Faced with so many deaths and displaced people, the ACHPR recalled the responsibility of States to guarantee the rights provided for in the African Charter, according to its Article 1, to deploy all the necessary responses to mitigate the impacts of the floods on the affected communities. Likewise, the ACHPR pointed out that since there is a possibility of continued heavy rains, the State must adopt protective measures. These protective measures include early warning, facilitating relocation of communities at imminent risk of being affected, and adopting disaster management strategies. On this occasion, the ACHPR called on the Government of Kenya to ensure that it provides relief services, including food, shelter, and medical care, so that those affected by the floods can at least have their basic rights safeguarded. It also urged the State to provide assistance for the reconstruction of homes and infrastructure destroyed by the floods, with a special emphasis on disaster-resilient development and construction. Other measures recommended by the ACHPR include the development of policies that focus on disaster risk reduction and climate adaptation measures, involving the community in these processes. The statement can be found here.

2. African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACtHPR) 

The ACtHPR is the judicial arm of the African Union and one of the three regional human rights courts. It was established to protect human and peoples’ rights in Africa principally through judicial consideration of human rights complaints. The Court’s permanent seat is in Arusha, the United Republic of Tanzania.

– On June 4, 2024, the ACtHPR, in the “Dominick Damian v. Tanzania case”, ruled that the mandatory death sentence under Tanzanian law constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life. 

Source:  Amnesty International.

The facts of the case refer to the fact that on December 14, 2012, the applicant was convicted of the murder of his mother and sentenced to death by hanging by the High Court sitting at Bukoba. Under Section 197 of the Penal Code, the death penalty is mandatory for this offense. In this regard, the ACtHPR recalled its case law, according to which mandatory imposition of the death sentence constitutes a violation to the right to life i) when it is not provided by law; ii) it is not meted out by a competent court; or iii) when it deprives the judicial officer the discretion to consider individual circumstances.

Taking into account those elements, the ACtHPR observed that mandatory imposition of the death sentence as applied under Tanzanian law is arbitrary given that “it deprives the judicial officer of the discretion to consider specific circumstances of particular cases, including whether such cases fall within the classification of the rarest of cases for which a death penalty can be lawfully imposed”. For instance, the Court highlighted that the High Court did not take into consideration the good character and lack of any prior criminal history of the applicant as mitigating factors.

Furthermore, the ACtHPR underscored that the methods of execution when the death penalty is permissible must exclude suffering or involve the least suffering possible. In this sense, the death penalty by hanging constitutes cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment. Thus, the Court urged Tanzania to eliminate within six months the mandatory death penalty and the use of hanging as a method of execution. The judgment is available here.