120 UN Member States Support the Moratorium at Committee Vote

International standards

By Louis Linel, on 18 November 2020

On 17 November, the Third Committee of the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a draft resolution calling upon UN Member States to observe a moratorium on executions.

The text was co-authored by Mexico and Switzerland which both cochaired an Inter-Regional Task Force made of other States. A total of 77 UN Member States co-sponsored the draft.

At the vote, a majority of 120 UN Member States favored the resolution* while 39 voted against and 24 abstained. In its report, Amnesty International notes positive vote changes with Djibouti, Lebanon and South Korea which voted in favor of the the resolution for the first time. The Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Guinea, Nauru, the Philippines, and Sierra Leone once again supported the resolution, after either abstaining or not being present at the vote in 2018. The list of recorded votes is available here, and a synthesis of the latter is provided by Amnesty International here.

Amnesty International welcomes the continued support for UN resolutions on this issue, which offers further confirmation that it is just a matter of time before the death penalty is abolished globally.

Amnesty International, Death Penalty: Majority of States Continue to Support UN Call for Moratorium on Executions at Committee Vote

The United Nations General Assembly is expected to convene at plenary session in mid-December in order to endorse the eighth resolution for a moratorium on executions. The number of votes in favor of the resolution has risen from 104 (when the first ever resolution was adopted in 2007) to 121 (in 2018), reflecting the recognition of abolition as a crucial matter for States and a fundamental right.

Changes between the vote at the UN Third Committee and final consideration at the plenary session can occur. The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty strongly encourages all States to support the resolution as a first step towards universal abolition.

*One vote has been given orally – Thumbnail shows the machine generated vote.

Attached documents

Document(s)

Voting record – Draft resolution A/C.3/75/L.41 as amended, Moratorium on the use of the death penalty

By United Nations General Assembly, on 18 November 2020


2020

International law - United Nations

zh-hant
More details See the document
  • Document type International law - United Nations
  • Available languages

Document(s)

Death Penalty: Majority of States Continue to Support UN Call for Moratorium on Executions at Committee Vote

on 1 January 2020


2020

NGO report

Antigua and Barbuda

Congo

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Djibouti

Dominica

Eswatini

Guinea

Lebanon

Libya

Nauru

Niger

Pakistan

Philippines

Republic of Korea

Sierra Leone

Solomon Islands

South Sudan

Tonga

Uganda

Zimbabwe


More details See the document
  • Document type NGO report
  • Countries list Antigua and Barbuda / Congo / Democratic Republic of the Congo / Djibouti / Dominica / Eswatini / Guinea / Lebanon / Libya / Nauru / Niger / Pakistan / Philippines / Republic of Korea / Sierra Leone / Solomon Islands / South Sudan / Tonga / Uganda / Zimbabwe
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Congo

Abolitionist for all crimesDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Democratic Republic of the Congo

RetentionistDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Djibouti

Abolitionist for all crimesDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Eswatini

Abolitionist in practiceDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Guinea

Abolitionist for all crimesDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Lebanon

RetentionistDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Mexico

Abolitionist for all crimesDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Nauru

Abolitionist for all crimesDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Philippines

Abolitionist for all crimesDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Republic of Korea

Abolitionist in practiceDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Sierra Leone

Abolitionist for all crimesDeath penalty legal status

Countries
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Switzerland

Abolitionist for all crimesDeath penalty legal status

Countries
Poster World day 2024 World Day

22nd World Day Against the Death Penalty – The death penalty protects no one.

Observed every 10 October, the World Day Against the Death Penalty unifies the global abolitionist movement and mobilizes civil society, political leaders, lawyers, public opinion and more to support the call for the universal abolition of capital punishment.

Moratorium poster

Helping the World Achieve a Moratorium on Executions

In 2007, the World Coalition made one of the most important decisions in its young history: to support the Resolution of the United Nations General Assembly for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty as a step towards universal abolition. A moratorium is temporary suspension of executions and, more rarely, of death sentences. […]

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