This statement is made by the organisations mentioned hereunder, participating in the Southern Africa Regional Death Penalty Workshop held in Gaborone, Botswana on 16 November 2005, under the auspices of the Southern African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN). We would like to raise the following critical issues in relation to the death penalty in the region, which were discussed during the workshop:

1.Abolition in the region - In the SADC sub-region, which is composed of 13 countries there are only 4 countries which have abolished the death penalty from their statutes – Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa and Namibia. However, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Angola, Botswana, DRC and Tanzania retain the death penalty in some form.

2.Execution – Execution of the death sentence is inhumane, degrading and cruel punishment. Despite international commitments by Southern African countries, they still persist in carrying out death sentences. In Tanzania, the last execution was in 1994, in Zambia it was in 1997, and in Botswana it was in 2003. We believe that appropriate punishment should fit the crime not duplicate it.

3.Anti-death penalty campaigns do not encourage criminality – We are concerned by the increasing incidences of crime in the region and do not promote the commission of crimes or any illegal activity. We acknowledge the efforts of governments in the region towards crime control. However, there is a need for effective, proportional and humane responses to crime.

4.Deterrent effect – There is no conclusive evidence that the death penalty serves any value as a deterrent.

5.Victim support - We actively work for, respect and support the rights and entitlements of victims of crime and their families. We are concerned that victims and their families do not have an active role in the criminal justice process beyond that of acting as State witnesses and do not have appropriate support mechanisms.

6.De facto moratoria - There have been instances in Malawi, Tanzania and Zambia where the Presidents have not assented to the death sentences passed by the Courts leaving the status of the people on death row as indeterminate.

7.Secrecy surrounding the death penalty - The tendency of authorities to refuse to provide any information on death penalty cases, deters and prevents the maximum pursuit of people’s rights and justice, for example in clemency procedures. It also hampers efforts by NGOs towards abolition as there is little relevant information available on the operation of the death penalty.

8.Public opinion – We are concerned that governments in the region continue to use the excuse of popular support for the death penalty as a reason for its retention.

9.Criminal Justice Systems – No criminal justice system can guarantee an error-free determination of guilt. Mistakes have been known to happen even in very advanced and well resourced legal systems where innocent people have been executed, and were subsequently discovered not to have committed the offences for which they were convicted. No criminal justice system is free from an unacceptable element of arbitrariness in the imposition of the death penalty. This endangers the right to life as the death penalty is irreversible!

We appeal to governments, Civil Society and the general public in the Southern African region where the death penalty is still retained to engage in informed dialogue on the need to abolish the death penalty.

The members of the Southern African Legal Assistance Network (SALAN) are the following:
DITSHWANELO – The Botswana Centre for Human Rights - Botswana
Centre for Advice, Research & Education on Rights (CARER) - Malawi
Legal and Human Rights Centre (LHRC) - Tanzania
Liga Mocambique Dos Direitos Humanos (LDH) - Mozambique
Legal Assistance Centre (LAC) - Namibia
The Black Sash - South Africa
Legal Resources Centre (LRC) - South Africa
Zambia Civic Education Association (ZCEA) - Zambia
Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) - Zambia
Zanzibar Legal Services Centre (ZLSC) - Zanzibar
Legal Resources Foundation (LRF) – Zimbabwe

Partner organisations:
Friedrich Naumann Foundation (FNF)
Netherlands Institute for Southern Africa (NiZA)
International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)
Centre for Capital Punishment Studies (CCPS)

16 November 2005
Gaborone,Botswana