Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Stronger support at the UN for abolition of the death penalty

In a few days, the UN General Assembly will be adopting yet another resolution for a moratorium of executions pending abolition.  This resolution will receive even better support compared to the previous 3.

In 2007 - 104 votes in favour, 54 against and 29 abstentions.

In 2008 -  106 in favour, 46 against and 34 abstained. 

In 2010 -  108 in favour, 41 against and 36 abstentions.

In 2012 -   110 in favour,  39 against and 36 abstentions (the results at the Third Committee session)

And, according to the UN, there are now 150 nation states that have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice

New York, 21 November 2012 - Statement by the Secretary-General on the adoption by the General Assembly’s Third Committee of the resolution “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”

The Secretary-General welcomes Monday’s record vote in favour of the call for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty by the Third Committee of the General Assembly, which adopted the resolution by 110 votes in favour (with 39 against and 36 abstentions). The new resolution, inter alia, calls on all States to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. It reflects a trend against capital punishment which has grown stronger across regions, legal traditions and customs since the landmark resolution of the General Assembly in 2007. The Secretary-General saluted this development at a high-level event on the death penalty in New York this July. He said then that the taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict on another, even when backed by legal process. 

Some 150 States have either abolished or do not practice the death penalty. Monday’s vote offers the opportunity to again encourage Member States who still practice the death penalty or retain it in law to follow suit. The Secretary-General therefore calls on Member States to join the worldwide trend and support next month’s General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

Ban welcomes General Assembly committee’s record vote on death penalty moratorium

UN Photo/Jean-Marc Ferré

21 November 2012 – United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon welcomes a record vote by a General Assembly committee in favour of the call for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, according to his spokesperson.

“Monday’s vote offers the opportunity to again encourage Member States who still practice the death penalty or retain it in law to follow suit,” the spokesperson added in a news statement, noting that 150 States have either abolished or do not practice the death penalty.

He continued, “The Secretary-General therefore calls on Member States to join the worldwide trend and support next month’s General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.”

The new resolution, inter alia, calls on all States to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. 

The vote took place on Monday in the Assembly’s Third Committee, which adopted the resolution by 110 votes in favour, with 39 against and 36 abstentions. 

The Third Committee deals with social and humanitarian issues, as well as human rights. It is one of six such bodies, which each deal with a block of issues and themes under discussion by the wider General Assembly, but which lend themselves to more effective discussion in smaller settings before then being forwarded to all UN Member States – in the so-called General Assembly Plenary – for a final decision.

Mr. Ban’s spokesperson said the Committee’s resolution reflects a trend against capital punishment which has grown stronger across regions, legal traditions and customs since a landmark General Assembly resolution on the topic in 2007.

“The Secretary-General saluted this development at a high-level event on the death penalty in New York this July,” the spokesperson added. “He said then that the taking of life is too absolute, too irreversible, for one human being to inflict on another, even when backed by legal process.”

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