Burkina Faso plans to reintroduce the death penalty

Last week, a government source told the media that Burkina Faso's military junta plans to reintroduce the death penalty, which was abolished in the 2018 penal code. The last known executions in Burkina Faso took place in 1988. This is the latest blow to the West African country's deteriorating human rights situation.

The source said the government was discussing reinstating the death penalty before submitting a proposal to the interim legislative assembly for adoption. No timeline was given. On November 8, Burkinabe Justice Minister Edasso Rodrigue Bayala confirmed the media report and said that “the issue of the death penalty…is being discussed.” [and] be implemented” in a new penal code to “follow the vision and instructions of the Head of State, Captain Ibrahim Traore”.

Justice and Civil society Sources in Burkina Faso told Human Rights Watch that the government is considering applying the death penalty to terrorist crimes.

Burkina Faso's armed forces have been fighting armed Islamist groups linked to al-Qaeda and the Islamic State in Greater Sahara for nearly a decade. The non-governmental organization Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) has reported that over 26,000 people have been killed in the conflict since 2016, including around 15,500 since the military junta seized power in September 2022.

The United Nations General Assembly and the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights have consistently called on governments to impose a moratorium on the death penalty, gradually restrict the practice and reduce the offenses for which it could be imposed; all with a view to its eventual abolition. Currently, about 170 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, or have introduced a moratorium, or have stopped executions for more than ten years. Human Rights Watch has long opposed the death penalty in all countries and under all circumstances, saying it is cruel and irreversible.

In 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution that said: “There is no conclusive evidence of the deterrent effect of the death penalty and any misstep or failure of the judiciary in carrying out the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable.”

Burkina Faso has real security concerns but should recognize the inherent cruelty of the death penalty and reject any plans to reintroduce it.