On 15 November, the third committee of the UN General Assembly voted 99 to 52, with 33 abstentions, to recommend that the General Assembly adopt a resolution calling for a global moratorium on capital punishment.
The draft 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. It is envisioned as a step towards eventual abolition.
Fourteen so-called ‘wrecking’ amendments were put forward during the two-day debate. Had these been accepted, the resolution would have effectively been neutralised. Opponents argued that states are 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.
The US and China, both of which use the death penalty, voted against the draft. There was also strong opposition from smaller countries. Singapore, one of the states that tried to push through a wrecking amendment, claimed that the EU “decided to table a resolution knowing full well that not only would it not enjoy consensus, but that it would polarise the committee”.
Sir John Sawers, Britain’s ambassador to the UN, said that the committee's endorsement of the resolution constitutes “further evidence that the centre ground on this debate has shifted towards the end of the use of the death penalty worldwide".
The third committee of the General Assembly examines human rights questions as well as issues related to crime prevention and criminal justice. Composed of 192 states, the committee’s decisions have historically proven a good indication of subsequent voting in the General Assembly. The General Assembly will vote on the draft resolution next month. |
