SUHAKAM: PROPOSED REVIEW OF THE DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG OFFENCES IS WELCOMED

PRESS STATEMENT

  PROPOSED REVIEW OF THE DEATH PENALTY FOR DRUG OFFENCES IS WELCOMED

The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM) welcomes the proposal to review and ultimately
to abolish the mandatory death penalty for drug offenders, as  announced by the Minister in the Prime
Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz, which will allow the court the liberty  and discretion to determine punishment based on  the gravity of the offence.This move is in line with the spirit of Article 3 and Article 6 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) respectively that reaffirm the right of a person to life and the right not to be subject to torture, or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is also in
line   with  the  United  Nations   General    Assembly    Resolutions,   first adopted    in  2007,  calling  for a moratorium on executions, with a view to eventually abolishing the death penalty.

The   Commission    has   consistently  called  for   the   Government   to   consider   a   moratorium   on  the death penalty or commuting this form of punishment to life imprisonment, especially for those who have been on  death   row   for   more   than   five   years. It  also   wishes   to  call   upon   the   Government   to review   the relevance    and  effectiveness   of  capital  punishment   and  to  join  the  other   140   UN member   states   to completely   abolish  the  death   penalty.   The   Commission   will   continue  to   support  the   Government   in realising full compliance with international human rights principles and norms specifically the UDHR.

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 “HUMAN RIGHTS FOR ALL”

TAN SRI HASMY AGAM
Chairman
The Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM)
22 October 2012

                                              “Hak Asasi Untuk Semua”
                                                “Human Rights For All”