2 July 2014
SG/SM/16000-HR/5202
Death Penalty Has No Place in Twenty-First Century, Secretary-General Tells Panel, Urging Concrete Action by States for Its Abolition
Following is UN Secretary-General’s remarks at a
panel on “Best Practices and Challenges in Implementing a Moratorium on
the Death Penalty”, in New York today:
I thank the Office of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights and the Permanent Mission of Italy to the United Nations
for organizing this event.
Twenty-five years ago, only about one quarter of
United Nations Member States had abolished the death penalty. Today,
more than four out of five countries — an estimated 160 Member States —
have either abolished the death penalty or do not practise it.
The General Assembly will soon take up the
“Resolution on the Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”, first
adopted in December 2007. The resolution has traditionally called on
all States to “progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and
reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed” and “to
establish a moratorium on execution with a view to abolishing the death
penalty”.
These efforts have won a progressively broader
margin of support from Member States, representing a variety of legal
systems, traditions, cultures and religious backgrounds.
As outlined in my recent report on the use of the
death penalty, I remain very concerned, however, about shortcomings with
respect to international human rights standards in countries that still
apply the death penalty.
I am particularly troubled by the application of
the death penalty for offences that do not meet the threshold under
international human rights law of “most serious crimes”, including
drug-related offences, consensual sexual acts and apostasy. I am also
concerned with legislation in 14 States that permits the death penalty
on children, as well as the new phenomenon of sentencing large groups of
individuals to death in mass trials.
Over the past two years, the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights has convened a series of important Global
Panel events on the death penalty, focusing on wrongful convictions,
deterrence and public opinion, and discrimination. These discussions
have deepened knowledge around the human rights dimensions of the
application of the death penalty and its impact on people, who are most
often poor and disadvantaged.
I had the honour to take part in two of these events, one on wrongful convictions and another on discrimination.
I will never forget listening to Damien Echols, part of the West Memphis Three
exonerees, discuss his experience of being on death row for 18 years
for a crime he did not commit. It was a heartbreaking story of the
stolen futures of three young men as a result of wrongful convictions.
The West Memphis Three case highlights how
judicial systems, even in well-resourced and sophisticated legal
regimes, can make mistakes. These errors are far more likely in the
case of rushed proceedings, which do not respect due process of law —
the worst cases being rushed proceedings against large groups of
accused.
The Global Panel event on discrimination
illustrated how the odds are often stacked against the poor, ethnic
minorities and other minority groups, who often lack access to effective
legal representation. These discriminatory practices in the
imposition of the death penalty further reinforce the calls for its
universal abolition.
As we look to the next session of the General
Assembly, I call on all States to take action in three critical areas.
First, ratify the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant
on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death
penalty. Second, support the resolution on the moratorium on the use of
the death penalty. Third, take concrete steps towards abolishing or no
longer practising this form of punishment.
The death penalty has no place in the twenty-first
century. Together, we can finally end this cruel and inhumane practice
everywhere around the world. Thank you. - UN News, 2/7/2014, Death Penalty Has No Place in Twenty-First Century, Secretary-General Tells Panel, Urging Concrete Action by States for Its Abolition
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