37 |
P age b
since it prevented the investigation and punishment of all those responsible for human rights violations.
171
The CAT also holds the same position in its jurisprudences. The CAT stated in its
GC No. 2: The committee considers that amnesties or other impediments which preclude or indicate unwillingness to provide prompt and fair prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of torture or ill-treatment violate the principle of non-derogability
‟.
172
It also considered that amnesties for the crime of torture are incompatible with State obligations under Article 4. It has stated In order to ensure that perpetrators of torture do not enjoy impunity, States parties must ensure the investigation and where appropriate, the prosecution of those accused of having committed the crime of torture, and ensure that amnesty laws exclude torture from their reach
‟.
173
Recently the Committee, in concluding observation (in the year 2017 on Rwanda, stated its concerns that the country‟s criminal law do not exclude torture from the application of amnesties and recommended Rwanda to amend her law in conformity with her duty under the convention.
174
The above discussion revealed that acts constituting torture as underline offence of crime of use of improper method are subject to amnesty under the Ethiopian law in contravention with the absolute nature (non-derogability) of torture under international law.
3.3.2.
Pardon
The FDRE Constitution also prohibit grant of pardon to perpetrators convicted of crime of torture. Recently HPR has promulgated a proclamation that provides procedure for granting pardon.
175
The proclamation is applicable on final sentence rendered by Federal Courts, Military Courts, and State Courts entertaining federal jurisdiction and when death penalty passed.
176
The proclamation is applicable for all crimes except any crimes which cannot be commuted by
171
HRC, Concluding Observation and Recommendations El Salvador, UN doc. CCPR/CO/78/SLV, 2003, Para 6. CAT, GC No. 2, Para 5 CAT, Concluding Observation on Chile, UN doc. CAT/C/CR/32/5, 2004, Paras band (b CAT, Concluding Observation on Bahrain, UN doc. CAT/CO/34/BHR, 2005, Paras f and g) and d and CAT, Concluding Observations on Cambodia, note 81, ibid. CAT, Concluding Observations on Rwanda, UN doc. CAT/C/RWA/CO/2, 2017, Paras 12-13 Proclamation to provide for the procedure of granting and executing pardon, proclamation No. 840/2014, Federal
Negarit Gazette, 21
st
August 2014 (Hereinafter Pardon proclamation) ibid, Art. 4.
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