Moratorium lifted on the execution of the death penalty in DR Congo

The abolition of the penalty is a denial of the right to life, and raises important human rights issues. No judicial system is perfect. In practice, the decision to put someone to death is often arbitrary, and the most disadvantaged are generally the poor and the weak. The Congolese government’s circular note of March 13, 2024 lifting the moratorium on the execution of the death penalty in DR Congo is a retrograde step for the country, ignoring all the gains and advances made by the country in terms of human rights, and violates the international treaties ratified by the DRC, namely the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights of December 16, 1966. More often than not, an alarming number of established facts also indicate that even the most advanced judicial systems have condemned to death men and women subsequently found innocent. When a miscarriage of justice results in someone’s death, the state becomes a murderer.