74. The Court recalls that Article 4 of the Charter provides as follows: Human beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right. 75. There is no doubt that Article 4 guarantees everyone the right to life and integrity of his/her person. As the Court has held the “right to life is the cornerstone on which the realisation of all other rights and freedoms depend. The deprivation of someone’s life amounts to eliminating the very holder of these rights and freedoms. It is in recognition of this that Article 4 of the Charter prohibits the arbitrary deprivation of life.”30 76. In its jurisprudence, the Court has taken cognisance of global trends towards the abolition of the death penalty, represented, in part, by the adoption of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).31 The Court has also noted that notwithstanding the developments at the global and regional level, the death penalty remains on the statute books of some states and that no treaty on the abolition of the death penalty has gained universal ratification.32 In respect of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, the Court notes that this has ninety (90) State Parties out of the one hundred-seventy three (173) State Parties to the ICCPR. 77. Specifically in relation to Africa, the Court takes cognisance of the continentwide developments in relation to the death penalty. By way of illustration, in 1990, only one country, Cape Verde, had abolished the death penalty. Over the years, however, the number of African countries that have abolished the 30 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights v. Kenya (26 May 2017) 2 AfCLR 9 § 152 Amini Juma v. United Republic of Tanzania, ACtHPR, Application No.024/2016, Judgment of 30 September 2021 (merits and reparations), § 122 and Ally Rajabu and Others v. United Republic of Tanzania (merits and reparations) (28 November 2019) 3 AfCLR 539, § 96. Notably, the Respondent State is not a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 32 For a comprehensive statement on developments in relation to the death penalty, see, United Nations General Assembly Moratorium on the use of the death penalty – Report of the Secretary General 8 August 2022. 31 20