Nairobi, 15/04/2015
The Heads of Mission of the European Union and Member States condemn in the strongest terms the carrying-out of six death sentences by the Somaliland authorities at the Mandera maximum-security complex after a long de facto moratorium. This completely unexpected act is a step back in the progress made in spreading the Rule of Law in Somaliland. The EU Heads of Mission strongly and unequivocally oppose the death penalty and consider that the death penalty constitutes a serious violation of human rights and human dignity.
The EU Heads of Mission deplore this grave backlash after nine years of suspended executions and urge Somaliland authorities to rethink its decision to leave the progressive path followed so far.
The EU Heads of Mission call upon the Somaliland authorities to immediately halt the execution of death sentences as a first step towards adopting appropriate legislation, which aims at the abolition of the death penalty. The EU Heads of Mission look forward to working with the Somaliland authorities in achieving this.
