The meeting in the Parliamentary Committee

DEATH PENALTY: FIRST MEETINGS OF THE RADICAL MISSION IN CHAD TO STRENGTHEN THE UN RESOLUTION ON THE DEATH PENALTY

November 20, 2012: Were held today the first meetings of the four-day mission of Hands Off Cain and the Radical Party in Chad to support the abolitionist process internally and to gain the support of the African country to the UN resolution for the universal moratorium on executions.
The Radical delegation is composed of the President of Hands Off Cain Marco Panella, by the Treasurer Elisabetta Zamparutti, the Secretary General of the Nonviolent Radical Party, Transnational and Transparty, Demba Traorè, and the General Counsel of the Radical Party Matteo Angioli.
The delegation met with the Hon. Yussouf Alzanif Mahamat, Chairman of the Parliamentary Committee on Communications, New Technology, Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, the Hon. Neatobeye Le-Nasseguen’Gar and the Hon. Ahmat Issa Badi, Vice President, and Rapporteur of the same Commission.
The Rapporteur noted the steps taken by the country in the direction of strengthening human rights, recalling that in 1994 was a National Commission on Human Rights and in 2005 the Ministry for the protection of human rights.
In 2009, during the Universal Periodic Review by the Human Rights Council of the United Nations, Chad has accepted the recommendation to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the abolition of the death penalty, but the ratification has not yet occurred.
Il Vice Presidente Neatobeye Le-Nasseguen’Gar ha assicurato la delegazione circa l’impegno a chiedere al Ministro degli Esteri di votare a favore della Risoluzione ONU sulla pena di morte.
He then read Article 17 of the new Constitution that "The human person is sacred and inviolable. Everyone has the right to life, physical integrity, safety, freedom and the protection of his life and his property”. It is a principle which implies that the death penalty could be considered unconstitutional.
Chad, where the last execution was in 2003, has voted against the pro-moratorium resolution in the General Assembly in 2007 and then was always absent to vote, even when the vote two days ago at the Third Committee of the General Assembly in underway in New York.
MPs Chad also mentioned, with respect to the vote on the resolution against female genital mutilation, also set in the current session of the General Assembly, as there is a national law against this practice.
For today and tomorrow there will be meetings with the Minister of Justice, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Human Rights, the Prime Minister and finally the President of the Republic. (Sources: HOC, 21/11/2012)