Accra: Amnesty International (AI) Ghana has called for the reintroduction of the Armed Forces (Amendment) Bill in Parliament, aiming to eliminate the death penalty for all offenses. The proposed legislation seeks to amend relevant sections of Act 29 and the Armed Forces Act, 1962 (Act 105), replacing the death penalty with life imprisonment.
According to Ghana News Agency, this call was made during the organization's Annual Human Rights Report on the Death Sentences and Executions Report. Speaking at the launch, Madam Genevieve Partington, Country Director of AI Ghana, emphasized that the report serves not only as a collection of statistics and cases but also as a platform to deepen international solidarity in human rights work. She highlighted the media's role in amplifying human rights issues, ensuring accountability, and exposing violations. AI Ghana remains committed to promoting human rights education, activism, research, and advocacy despite challenges.
Madam Charity Batuure, Vice Chairperson of AI Ghana, reported that the organization recorded six new death sentences in 2024, all for high treason under Article 3 of Ghana's 1992 constitution. By the end of 2024, 182 individuals were under death sentence, an increase from 180 the previous year. She urged the President of Ghana to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.
Batuure also revealed that there was a 32 percent increase in global executions, with 1,518 documented cases in fifteen countries, marking the highest figures since 2025. Execution methods included beheading, hanging, lethal injection, shooting, and nitrogen gas asphyxiation. Countries with notable execution numbers included China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, and Yemen. In Sub-Saharan Africa, recorded executions and death sentences decreased by 10 percent, with Somalia being the only country in the region to carry out executions for the second consecutive year, totaling thirty-four.
The Middle East and North Africa witnessed a significant increase in executions, rising from 1,073 in 2023 to 1,442 in 2024. According to GNA's research, in advanced democracies, the United States stands out in its application of the death penalty, executing 19 people, including six Black individuals, as of May 2025.
