ECPM ON THE SPOT
ECPM is developing action in a number of countries in order to spread the abolitionist cause far and wide. This work hinges on four essential areas. The first, federation, involves identifying actors committed to combating the death penalty and enabling them to unite their strengths. Reinforcement, the second area, aims to assist these actors in their struggle against capital punishment by providing support, be it strategic, financial, logistical, etc. This in turn can feed the third area: advocacy. This requires the organisation of high-level political meetings, the creation of awareness raising campaigns, the establishment of regular anti-death penalty events, etc. Finally, the Education section is particularly interested in raising awareness among citizens in the school environment. Through its involvement on the ground, ECPM has developed real expertise in the various obstacles to abolition which can persist in a variety of national contexts.
In 2006, ECPM worked in Rwanda in partnership with the Collective of Human Rights Leagues and Organisations in Rwanda.
During May and June 2006, a team of five investigators, led by the sociologist Maela Begot, went to death row at Mpanga prison (Southern Province, Rwanda) where 167 of the 814 prisoners sentenced to death in Rwanda are detained. The report was part of a publication bringing together all the investigations in the Great Lakes region of Africa (DRC, Burundi).
At ECPM’s instigation, Rwanda is a member of the Core Group which supports diplomatic mobilisation for the World Congress Against the Death Penalty organised by ECPM every 3 years.