African Court Filing Gender Discrimination in the Death Penalty

March 10, 2024

Today, to mark International Women’s Day, twenty-four international human rights organizations across seventeen countries urged the African Court of Human and People’s rights to recognize gender bias in the application of the death penalty. Today’s gender justice amicus was filed in support of a request for an advisory opinion that the Pan African Lawyers Union (PALU) filed in October 2023, requesting that the Court issue a landmark Advisory Opinion declaring the death penalty a violation of human rights, including those set forth in the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights. Article 4 of the African Charter protects the right to life and personal integrity while Article 5 guarantees the right to human dignity and freedom from cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. In its request to the African Court, PALU argues that the death penalty is plagued by due process deficiencies and is imposed in a discriminatory manner against people based on gender, age, mental disabilities, poverty, language barriers, and political affiliation, in violation of Article 4 of the Charter.

The gender justice amicus filed today, highlights the case of Lemi Lembu, a survivor of gender-based violence who is currently on death row in Tanzania, despite severe intellectual disabilities. You can sign Lemi’s petition here. Attached is the press release for the amicus filed today, led by AdvocAid.

Read More: Women on Death Row in Africa