The Death Penalty in Mali: Raising awareness for its abolition
In order to abolish the death penalty in Africa and to improve the capacities of its members, FIACAT consulted all members of its African network to identify their needs and draw up strategies with them for the abolition of the death penalty on the continent.
To this end FIACAT organised two regional workshops to identify the geographical, cultural and organisational differences of each ACAT. The workshops aimed to improve ACATs’ capabilities in campaigning to abolish the death penalty, to draw up common strategies and implement a plan of action towards the abolition of the death penalty in sub -Saharan Africa.
The Regional Seminar for the Abolition of the Death Penalty in West Africa took place in Dakar (Senegal) from 12 to 14 November 2012. Participants were tutored by an expert member of the Working Group on the Death Penalty in Africa of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, and developed national plans of action towards the abolition in their countries.
One of the strategies adopted was to organise awareness -raising seminars in certain countries targeted specifically at opinion -makers. FIACAT and ACAT Mali therefore organised a formation workshop on 29 and 30 September 2014 in Bamako (Mali) which counted 20 participants: Muslim and Christian religious, traditional chiefs, members of civil society organisations, journalists, members of the National Commission on Human Rights in Mali (CNDH) and Parliamentarians.
This meeting was an opportunity to identify the reasons why the great majority of the population of Mali is in favour of death penalty and to review the religious and customary arguments which could convince people of the necessity to abolish it.
The present document provides summaries of the interventions made during the Seminar, as well as the final declaration and the 10 reasons to abolish death penalty in Mali. The document is meant as an educational and practical tool towards the abolition of the death penalty in Mali.
