by the States Parties in Article 1 thereof “to adopt legislative or other measures to give effect” to the rights contained in the Charter. The importance of such safeguards has been recognized by the African Commission in the Robben Island Guidelines.49 169. The African Commission is of the view that the execution of a death sentence by hanging may not be compatible with respect for the inherent dignity of the AC HP R individual and the duty to minimize unnecessary suffering, because it is a notoriously slow and painful means of execution. If carried out without appropriate attention to the weight of the person condemned because hanging can result either in slow and painful strangulation, because the neck is not immediately broken by the drop, or, at the other extreme, in the separation of the head from the body. 170. However, the Complainants have not demonstrated that the execution would be, or was, carried out without due attention to the weight of the condemned. In the circumstance, the African Commission holds that these submissions are speculative and cannot in the circumstance violate Article 5 of the African Charter. It is for this reason that the African Commission finds that there has been no violation of Article 5 of the African Charter in this regard. 171. It was also contended by the Complainants that because the victim had been under the fear of the death penalty for over a decade since he was first arrested, this prolonged delay constitute cruel, unusual or degrading punishment or treatment for the reason that he lived for an unconscionable amount of time awaiting the potential imposition of a death sentence, rendering the victim‟s execution a violation of Article 5 of the African Charter. 49 Robben Island Guidelines, para. 20. 46