Amnesty International Ghana Calls for Complete Abolition of Death Penalty

Accra, Ghana - 22 May, 2025 - Amnesty International Ghana is renewing its push for a constitutional amendment to completely abolish the death penalty in Ghana.

The advocacy group maintains that keeping the death penalty, even in limited form, is a breach of basic human rights, despite recent legal reforms.

Genevieve Partington, Country Director of Amnesty International Ghana, emphasized that the organization is working with the Constitutional Review Commission to eliminate all legal grounds for capital punishment.

She noted that while Ghana took a significant step by removing the death penalty from its Criminal Offences Act in July 2023, the journey is not complete until it is abolished from all laws.

Currently, the death penalty remains in Ghana's 1992 Constitution for offences such as high treason. Amnesty International Ghana is advocating for the removal of this provision, citing the need to align Ghana's laws with its international human rights obligations.

The group also highlighted that 182 individuals remained on death row in the country by the end of 2024.

“Ghana took a bold step by removing the death penalty from its Criminal and other Offences Act. But we must finish the journey and abolish it completely from all laws'' Partington stated during the launch of two major global human rights reports—The Death Sentences and Executions Report 2024 and the Annual Human Rights Report on May 21.

''We’re engaging with the Constitutional Review Commission for the removal of the death penalty, which is still in our Constitution. High treason needs to be removed from our law books,” she added.

Source: Lead News Online