The Community Summit with Portuguese-speaking countries, of which France is an observer, will end on Saturday in the Angolan capital. In the corridors, one of the thorny issues is the death penalty, which has not yet been abolished by Equatorial Guinea.
With our special correspondent in Luanda, Carina Branco
Angola today takes over the rotating presidency of this Portuguese-speaking organization, consisting of nine member states, including Equatorial Guinea, which joined in 2014. The heads of state and government of the member states meet today and the question of the death penalty remains unanswered, as Malabo has not yet abolished it.
It is indeed a promise that has not yet been kept and the Portuguese-speaking countries are putting pressure on it. Equatorial Guinea had even promised to end the death penalty when it joined the organization. It was even a condition of its membership. But at present there is only one moratorium. Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa demands respect for society’s commitments and values. “We are very determined to believe that it is necessary for the other brother countries to understand the importance of these principles and to stop applying them.”
In response, Equatorial Guinea’s Foreign Minister Simeón Esono promises that the death penalty will soon be abolished. “It is an irreversible process. The country is committed to this process and will honor it, but in Equatorial Guinea the death penalty is not applied in practice, no one is killed. ”
This issue remains sensitive today. In 2018, Equatorial Guinea wanted to participate in the rotating presidency. It cannot do so until the death penalty has been abolished in Malabo.
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