Bahamas - Human Rights Committee - Suggested List of Issues Prior to Reporting - Death penalty - April 2025
Country: Bahamas, The
Partners: Greater Caribbean for Life, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty
Issues: Death Penalty
Mechanism: UN Human Rights Committee
Report Type: List of Issues Prior to Reporting
This report addresses the Bahamas’ compliance with its human rights obligations arising from its use of the death penalty and suggests questions that the Committee should pose in its List of Issues Prior to Reporting for the State Party. The Bahamas maintains a de facto moratorium on executions and has not carried out any executions since 2000.
The Bahamas has not ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the death penalty remains lawful for certain crimes. The Privy Council, which is the highest court for the Bahamas, narrowly restricts the circumstances in which the death penalty could be applied to the “worst of the worst” crimes.
The last time that a Bahamian court sentenced someone to death was in 2013, and a court
commuted that sentenced in 2016. No person is currently under sentence of death. Public awareness about the death penalty and human rights concerns about the practice is
low. During its fourth Universal Periodic Review in 2023, the Bahamas noted
recommendations to conduct a comprehensive public awareness-raising campaign about
international human rights standards and the efficacy of alternatives to the death penalty. On December 17, 2024, the Bahamas abstained from the vote in the UN General Assembly
on the biannual resolution calling for a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
