------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ On 18 December 2007, the General Assembly voted 104 to 54, with 29 abstentions, to adopt a resolution calling for a global moratorium on capital punishment. The resolution, spearheaded by Italy and tabled by the European Union, calls on states to progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and asks those countries that have abolished it in practice not to reintroduce it. The resolution faced fierce opposition in the run-up to its adoption. Opponents claimed that states should be free to determine their domestic criminal justice systems, that no major instrument of international law expressly forbids the use of capital punishment, and that the proposers were attempting to impose their own values. UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomed the adoption of the moratorium, noting the “support expressed for this initiative from many diverse regions of the world”, and describing the decision as “further evidence of a trend towards ultimately abolishing the death penalty’. The death penalty is on the wane worldwide; 92 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes (compared to just 16 in 1977). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The death penalty is on the wane worldwide. In 1977 only 16 countries had abolished the death penalty for all crimes; now, in 2007, 89 have done so. A General Assembly resolution could help sustain the trend towards abolition, by setting a normative precedent against capital punishment and raising awareness about its ineffectiveness as a means of justice. A resolution could also have a strong effect on countries which are ‘abolitionist in practice’ – that is, those which have not formally outlawed capital punishment but which have not used the death penalty within the last ten years. Click here to view a list compiled by Amnesty International of those countries which fall within this category, as well as the countries which are ‘abolitionist for all crimes’, ‘abolitionist for ordinary crimes only’, and ‘retentionist’. Another possible outcome of a General Assembly resolution could be to encourage policy changes in high-profile retentionist countries such as China and the US , where the official stance on capital punishment may be shifting. China is the world’s most prolific executioner. It is also the most secret. Official information suggests that approximately 1,000 executions were carried out in 2006, but Amnesty International puts the likely actual number much higher – at 8,000. Chinese application of the death penalty may in future be subject to greater scrutiny. On 1 January 2007 a judicial amendment came into effect which requires all death sentences to be approved by the Supreme People’s Court. In March 2007, addressing the UN Human Rights Council, Chinese representative La Yifan said: “By doing this, we are seeking to limit the application of the death penalty in China. I am confident that with the development and the progress in my country the application of the death penalty will be further reduced and it will be finally abolished.” The United States executes far fewer people than China and it is much more transparent but, as the world’s superpower and the only country in the Americas to have executed anyone since 2003, it is among the highest-profile executioners. In 2006, 53 people were put to death in 12 American states. In Roper v. Simmons (2004), the US Supreme Court found the execution of juvenile offenders to be in contravention of the US Constitution – the Court referred to the international trend towards abolition to support its finding. More recently, in December 2006 Florida Governor Jeb Bush suspended all state executions and appointed a commission to review “the humanity and constitutionality of lethal injections”, following the botched execution of Angel Diaz. The lethal chemicals used to kill Diaz were injected incorrectly, into his soft tissue rather than his veins, and he suffered for over half an hour before finally being pronounced dead. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The UN is categorically opposed to the death penalty. Though capital punishment is not expressly forbidden by any comprehensive international treaty, the principle of the right to life is enshrined in article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Also applicable is article 5 of the Declaration, which forbids the torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of those sentenced to death, while imprisoned and during the execution. The UN Secretary-General is required to make an annual report about the death penalty to the UN Human Rights Council (formerly the UN Commission on Human Rights). To read the most recent of these yearly reports, which was presented to the Council in February 2007, click here. ------------------------------------------------------------------- The UK abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 1998, the same year Parliament passed the Human Rights Act. Capital punishment for common crimes had been suspended from 1965. The UK plays a role in advocating against the death penalty through the European Union, which specifies abolition as a criterion for membership. During the UK 's Presidency in 1998, the EU agreed guidelines on the death penalty, to help formulate its demarches to third countries in which capital punishment remains in use. Also in 1998, the UK's Foreign & Commonwealth Office (FCO) set up a 'Death Penalty Panel', comprising academics, legal experts and NGO representatives. The Panel helps the government draw up strategies to encourage the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. The FCO also supports projects to raise public awareness about capital punishment through its Human Rights Project Fund. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Click below to visit the other UNA-UK webpages on the death penalty: |
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| Click below to visit the other UNA-UK webpages on the death penalty: |
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Abolitionist for all crimes – countries with laws which do not provide for the death penalty for any crime Abolitionist for ordinary crimes only – countries with laws which do not provide for the death penalty in the case of ‘ordinary’ crimes (eg. murder) but which do apply capital punishment in the case of ‘exceptional’ crimes (eg. war crimes) Abolitionist in practice – countries with laws which do provide for the death penalty but which have not applied it within the past ten years and are believed to have a policy of not carrying out executions and/or have committed internationally to non-use of the death penalty Retentionist – countries with laws which provide for the death penalty for ordinary as well as exceptional crimes Source: |
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15 December 2007 New Jersey will become the first US state to abolish the death penalty since the US Supreme Court reauthorised capital punishment in 1976. A special state commission concluded in January 2007 that the death penalty has not deterred murder, risks killing an innocent person, and is more expensive than life imprisonment. State Assemblyman Wilfredo Caraballo said, "We have seized the moment and are poised to join the ranks of other states and countries that view the death penalty as discriminatory, immoral and barbaric." Click here to read the AFP news story and here to read a Century Foundation article. |
7 December 2007 |
19 October 2007 |
14 September 2007
Gabon is the latest country to move towards abolishing capital punishment. The government said the decision was triggered by an ‘express request’ from President Omar Bongo Ondimba, following appeals by the Spanish and French governments keen to galvanise support for the proposed UN General Assembly resolution on a global moratorium. The EU has been targeting the votes of countries that are ‘abolitionist in practice’– Gabon has not applied the death penalty in over 20 years. Click here to read the News24 story. |
8 June 2007
Rwanda's parliament has voted to abolish the death penalty. The ban will take effect from the end of July 2007. Click here for the BBC News story. |
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