IPNEWS – Monrovia: The Rescue Alternatives Liberia (RAL) welcomes the decision of the Liberian Senate to abolish the death penalty in Liberia. RAL says the decision of the Senate is a clear indication of Liberia’s determination to fulfilling its regional and international treaty body’s obligations.
According to a release signed by RAL’s Program Coordinator, Mr. Sam M. Nimely, it is important for Liberia to abolish the death penalty as no judicial system is safe from judicial error and innocent persons could be sentenced to death and executed.
Meanwhile, RAL is calling on the House of Representatives to concur with the Senate so that the death penalty can be abolished as the country accepted recommendations of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) that called for the abolition of the death penalty.
“Additionally, RAL would like to use this opportunity to congratulate H. E. Laurent Delahousse, Head of the European Union Delegation to Liberia; H. E. Michael Roux, Ambassador of France; Dr. Uchenna Emelonye; Country Representative of the Office of the High Commissioner (OHCHR); French Development Agency; Ministry of Justice, especially the Human Rights Department of the Ministry of Justice and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP) for their consistent advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty in Liberia,” Mr. Sam M. Nimely is quoted in a release issued Wednesday in Monrovia.
Furthermore, RAL appreciates President George Manneh Weah for submitting the instrument to the National Legislature for death penalty abolition in Liberia.
The release added, “While we are advocating for the abolition of the death penalty, we want to encourage the National Legislature to also grant the Bureau of Correction and Rehabilitation (BRC), an autonomous status so that our prisons can be strengthened.”
RAL is a criminal justice system reform; death penalty abolition, and anti-torture advocacy group with membership of several national, regional, and international coalitions/networks, including Transitional Justice Working Group, West African Human Rights Defenders Networks, Pan African Human Rights Defender Networks, The World Coalition against the Death Penalty, and International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT). RAL was established in 1994.
