On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights announces the winners of the competition for the Best Artistic Work and the Best Research Paper on the Death Penalty

The African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, through its Working Group on Death Penalty, Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Killings and Enforced Disappearances in Africa (the Working Group) called for artistic work and research paper on death penalty as part of the commemoration of the World Day against the Death Penalty. This competition aims to encourage reflection and raise public awareness on the challenges surrounding the death penalty, with a view to promoting the right to life and human dignity.

The Working Group is pleased to present the awards to:
 Sara TIMB, winner of the Best Artistic Work Award on the Death Penalty, for her piece entitled "Immortel.le.s", in recognition of her talent, the originality of her creation, and the power of her message;
 Maria Florencia Carballo Nievas, winner of the Best Research Paper Award on the Death Penalty, for her paper entitled "When counterterrorism undermines its own logic: the Sahel’s death penalty revival, international humanitarian law and the Banjul Charter", in recognition of her distinct contribution to the academic reflection on the death penalty and to the promotion of the right to life and human dignity.

The Commission extends its warm congratulations to the laureates and thanks all participants for their valuable contributions. It commends their commitment to putting art and research at the service of a collective reflection on the death penalty in Africa.

Through this initiative, the Commission reaffirms its unwavering commitment to the abolition of the death penalty on the continent. It encourages Member States, researchers, artists, and civil society organizations to pursue their efforts in dialogue, awareness-raising, and mobilization for the protection of the right to life.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of African Union (AU).