Paris: Sierra Leone reaffirmed its irreversible commitment to abolishing the death penalty, declaring that the recent ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) marks a permanent end to capital punishment under both domestic and international law.
According to Sierra Leone News Agency, speaking at a high-level panel during the opening session of the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris on June 29, 2026, the Attorney General and Minister of Justice underscored the country’s legal and moral transformation. The abolition was described as “absolute, irreversible, and grounded in principle rather than convenience.”
The Minister conveyed greetings from President Julius Maada Bio, the Government, and the people of Sierra Leone, noting that the country’s presence at the Congress reflected its continued commitment to global human rights advancement. Recalling Sierra Leone’s position at the 2022 World Congress in Berlin, the Attorney General referenced the enactment and entry into force of the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act in 2021, which removed capital punishment from domestic law. The Minister stated that Sierra Leone has declared itself as having “chosen life.”
The Minister noted that this position was tested during a violent attempted overthrow of the government in November 2024, which faced calls for reinstating the death penalty. President Bio rejected such calls, maintaining an abolitionist stance rooted in the principle of constitutional values rather than political expediency.
Providing recent legal developments, the Attorney General announced that on June 9, 2026, the Parliament of Sierra Leone ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR. On June 24, 2026, the Instrument of Accession was executed by the Foreign Minister of International Cooperation and subsequently transmitted to the United Nations in New York for deposit with the Secretary-General. Sierra Leone has now abolished the death penalty under both domestic legislation and international law, rendering the abolition permanent and irrevocable.
The Minister outlined three significant implications. First, death penalty provisions in Sierra Leone’s 1991 Constitution are now effectively frozen as treaty law, unenforceable regardless of future legislative or governmental changes. The forthcoming revised Constitution will further entrench the abolition as a protected constitutional principle. Second, no Sierra Leonean will ever face capital punishment. Third, Sierra Leone joins a growing community of African and international states permanently removing the death penalty from their legal systems.
Reflecting on the historical position, the Minister observed that Sierra Leone voted against the Second Optional Protocol in 1989, describing the country’s journey from retention to abolition, though difficult, as ultimately worthwhile. Addressing retentionist states, the Attorney General urged ratification of the Second Optional Protocol, stating this step should be viewed not as a loss of sovereignty but rather as a “gain in humanity.”
The Minister concluded by encouraging continued global momentum towards abolition, reaffirming Sierra Leone’s position as a committed advocate for the universal abolition of capital punishment.
The 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, hosted from June 30 to July 2, 2026, was co-sponsored by the Government of France, Switzerland, and the European Union. The Congress was organized by ECPM (Ensemble contre la peine de mort / Together Against the Death Penalty), a France-based organization dedicated to the global abolition of capital punishment.
The Sierra Leone delegation comprised Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mrs. Frances Piagie Alghali; Ambassador to France H.E. Dr. Mohamed Kanja Sesay; Deputy Ambassador Ms. Mamadi Gobeh Kamara; Mr. Samuel Kargbo, Minister Plenipotentiary and Head of Chancery at the Sierra Leone Embassy in Paris; and Mr. Patrick Hassan Morlai Koroma, Esq., Director of Legal, Economic, and Technical Cooperation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.