ABSTRACT
Africa remains one of the death penalty regions in the world, as most African states still retain the punishment in their statutes. Fourteen African states have abolished the death penalty in law and practice.1 Of these, seven have ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that aims at the abolition of the death penalty.2 No de facto abolitionist African state has signed or ratified this Protocol. This raises questions about the commitment of some African states to human rights standards and in some cases, their de facto abolitionist status. Africa also remains the only region with a human rights treaty that has not yet adopted a protocol on the abolition of the death penalty. The European and Inter-American human rights systems already have protocols on the subject.
