On the occasion of the 12th World Day for the Abolition of the death penalty, the Embassy of France to Ghana invited Anne Souleliac, a lawyer practicing in Paris, specialized in human rights and a member of the Global Coalition for abolition of the death penalty.
A seminar was organized with fifty people from Ghanaian institutional bodies in charge of Human Rights (the National Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice, Ministry of Justice), the civil society organizations engaged in the defense of human rights, lawyers, criminal law specialists, professors and law students, representatives of religious organizations and some international donors.
The aim was to encourage and support the set-up of a coalition that will bring together key players from civil society acting in favor of the abolition of the death penalty in Ghana. Ghana has declared a moratorium on executions since 1993, but criminal courts still issue capital punishment.
On the occasion of the constitutional review process, a referendum should be held in the coming months; the question of the abolition of the death penalty will be put to voters.