EU renews call for total abolition of death penalty
The High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell, and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, have expressed their support for the increasing global movement to abolish the death penalty.
In a joint statement for the European and World Day Against the Death Penalty, they reaffirmed their firm opposition to capital punishment in all its forms and under any circumstances.
They highlighted that more than two-thirds of countries globally have abolished the death penalty, either in law or in practice, with last year seeing a record low in the number of executions worldwide.
They express concern that countries like China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the United States remain among the top executors, with Iran accounting for 74% of all recorded executions.
The EU and the Council of Europe are calling for a moratorium on the death penalty in these nations, stressing that the punishment does not deter crime and that miscarriages of justice can have irreversible consequences.
The two organisations reaffirmed their commitment to fostering democratic dialogue, transparency, and collaboration with civil society to work towards the complete abolition of the death penalty.
They emphasised that capital punishment is outdated and has no place in the 21st century.
By Hamza Alkali
