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| The Arab Coalition against the Death Penalty (ACADP) expresses deep concern on the coming into force of the Arab Charter on Human Rights containing provisions allowing death penalty for children. | Date: 18-03-2008 |
| Author: ACHRS | |
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The Arab Coalition against the Death Penalty (ACADP) expresses deep concern on the coming into force of the Arab Charter on Human Rights containing provisions allowing death penalty for children.
The Arab Coalition against the Death Penalty (ACADP) expresses its deep concern at the fact that the Arab Charter on Human Rights has received on 24 January the 7th ratification necessary for its entry into force on the 24 March 2008.
Article 7 of the Arab Charter provides that “(a) Sentence of death shall not be imposed on persons under 18 years of age, unless otherwise stipulated in the laws in force at the time of the commission of the crime.”
This provision clearly allows the application of death penalty for children.
The ACADP would like to recall that this provision is contrary to international norms and standards, particularly article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child ratified by all Arab Sates and article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which provide that death penalty cannot be imposed for crimes committed by persons under eighteen years of age.
The ACADP further recalls that the domestic legislation related to the rights of the child and to juvenile justice of those ratifying states does not permit the application of death sentence to children under eighteen.
The ACADP reminds the States party to the Arab League that ratifying the Arab Convention on Human Rights with its Article 7 violates their international obligations as well as their internal legislation.
The ACADP urges the Sates parties to denounce article 7 of the Arab Convention on Human Rights.
It urges the League of Arab States to revise the Arab Charter on Human Rights to bring it in line with international standards regarding the application of the death penalty.
Background
The Arab Charter on Human Rights (ACHR) was adopted by the Council of the League of Arab States on 15 September 1994 and was further revised at the 16th Arab Summit in Tunis in May 2004. It enters into force 60 days after the ratification by the seventh state, the United Arab Emirates on 24 of January 2008, after Jordan, Bahrain, Algeria, Syria, Palestine and Libya.
ACADP, Amman, 20 February 2008
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