Global executions have reached their highest level since 2015, with substantial increases observed in the Middle East and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to Amnesty International in its 2023 annual report on the global use of the death penalty.
The report reveals that a total of 1,153 executions were documented in 2023 worldwide, marking an increase of more than 30 percent compared to 2022. This surge was primarily fueled by countries such as Iran, where the death penalty was frequently handed down for drug-related offenses, breaching international restrictions on the use of capital punishment. The report emphasizes that such practices disproportionately impact Iran’s most vulnerable communities and violate international human rights law standards.
Recorded executions in Sub-Saharan Africa surged by 66 percent, from 11 in 2022 to 38 in 2023, with most executions occurring in Somalia. This increase follows a previous reduction in 2022, when countries including Sierra Leone, the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, and Zambia abolished the death penalty for varying degrees of crimes. However, no additional countries in the region have abolished the death penalty since 2022.
Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for East and Southern Africa, noted that while the number of executing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa decreased from two in 2022 to one in 2023, the 38 recorded executions were the highest since 2015. Additionally, recorded death sentences sharply increased by 66%, from 298 in 2022 to 494 in 2023.
China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the USA accounted for the highest number of executions in 2023. Excluding China, where execution data remains opaque, Iran was responsible for 74 percent of all recorded executions, followed by Saudi Arabia at 15 percent. The USA, the sole country in the Americas to execute individuals over the past 14 years, also saw an uptick in its execution numbers.
The report indicates that the death penalty was applied in ways that contravene international law, often imposed after procedures failing to meet international fair trial standards. Moreover, the penalty was used for offenses not involving intentional killing, failing to fulfill the “threshold of most serious crimes.” Despite the increase in documented executions, 112 countries worldwide are now fully abolitionist, with a total of 144 having abolished the death penalty in law or practice.
“The death penalty will again come under scrutiny at this year’s UN General Assembly. Amnesty International urges all governments to rally behind the UN’s call to end the use of the death penalty in a vital show of commitment to human rights,” said Chagutah.
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