CAR Cuts The Rope

FILE: In this undated photograph, the shadow of the hangman's noose is depicted.

The UN rights chief on Wednesday hailed a decision by lawmakers in the Central African Republic to end capital punishment in the war-torn country. CAR becomes the 24th African country to have abolished the death penalty.

The United Nation's top rights advocate, Michelle Bachelet, reacted to CAR's decision by saying "The death penalty is incompatible with fundamental tenets of human rights and dignity."

The nation's awmakers approved new legislation last Friday making death sentences illegal.

The move prompted Bachelet to call to CAR's leadership to ensure its adherence.

"I commend the adoption of a law in the Central African Republic abolishing the death penalty and encourage President Faustin-Archange Touadera to promulgate it,"

Around 170 countries so far have abolished or introduced moratoriums on death penalties in law or practice.

CAR's decision will further bolster what the UN official called "the global trend towards universal abolition thus contributing to the enhancement and development of human rights.,"