Amnesty International Ghana(Al) has paid a courtesy call to Crime Check Foundation (CCF) in Accra.
The visit was to appeal for more support in the fight to amending the Criminal Offences Act, act 29(1960) and the Ghana Armed Forces Act, act 105 (1962) in order to help abolish 96 per cent of the provisions relating to death penalty in the country.
In a brief presentation, the Campaign and Communication Coordinator of AI, Belinda Adikie Asamanyuah said the death penalty breached human rights mainly, the rights to life, living free from torture and cruelty.
“All we are fighting foris for death penalty be replaced with life imprisonment because an innocent person may be released from prison for a crime they did not commit but an execution cannot be reversed,” she said.
Ms Asamanyuah also acknowledged CCF for its consistent fight for human rights and was excited of the partnership and support each other could give to fight for all human rights in the country.
She advised the general public to also do their part and help in the fight, as the death penalty violated the right to life which happened to be the most basic of all human rights.
On her part, the Administrative officer of AI, Juliet Kaingbanja, revealed that they had already submitted a memorandum to Parliament and was working hand-in -hand with other 19 organisations to also submit theirs.
“Our memorandum alone is not enough for the bill to be passed, which is why we are seeking for others who are also against the death penalty in the country to send their memorandum to parliament to fasten the passage,” she said.
The Executive Director of CCF, Ibrahim Oppong Kwarteng, pledged his support to the team and noted that there were many other entrenched clauses in the constitution that needed amendments.
“Although we are looking at the death penalty, other parameters like the issues on prisons, abuse on migrants among others should also be looked at,” he said.
Al is a worldwide movement of people who work and undertake actions for human rights, its vision is of a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards.
Also, CCF is a crime prevention advocacy organisation that promotes the rights of prisoners, support marginalised and underprivileged persons as well asuses life in prison documentaries to sensitise the public to the dangers of crime.
BY ANITA ANKRAH
