Two thirds of the United Nations General Assembly vote in favor of the 10th resolution for a moratorium on the death penalty
Good news
On 17 December 2024, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 10th resolution for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with 130 votes in favor out of the 193 United Nations Member States (5 more than in 2022), 32 votes against (5 less than in 2022), 22 abstentions and 9 absent.
Positive changes reflect the trend towards abolition in Africa
For the 1st time, 3 countries that had always abstained in previous votes voted in favor of the resolution:
- Kenya
- Morocco
- Zambia
Two countries which had voted in favor for the first time in 2022 also confirmed their positive vote in 2024: Ghana and Liberia.
These changes in votes reflect positive trends in these countries to abolish the death penalty. Ghana and Zambia have abolished the death penalty since the last vote in 2022. In Kenya, Liberia and Morocco, debates for abolition are ongoing.
Uganda which had voted yes for the first time in 2022 abstained in 2024, following the passing of a bill criminalizing homosexuality in 2023. Zimbabwe which had voted yes during the third committee in November 2024 abstained in December as a bill for abolition was adopted by the parliament but has yet to be signed into law by the president.
In 2024, 33 countries in Africa voted in favor of the resolution compared to 17 in 2007. For the first time, Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia all voted in favor of this resolution.
Growing support from Asia, the Caribbean and the Middle East
For the first time, Antigua and Barbuda voted for the resolution and Bahamas abstained. The two countries had been strong opponents of the resolution in the past and voted against it.
Also reflecting changes in power, Bangladesh abstained when it had always voted against.
For the third time in a row, countries from Asia and the Middle East confirmed their support for the resolution: Djibouti, Jordan, Lebanon, South Korea, Malaysia and the Philippines.
Growing support over the years
With 5 more votes in favor compared to 2025, the resolution has now reached 130 countries supporting a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, over 2/3 of the United Nations General Assembly.
Also very importantly this year, the number of countries voting against the resolution decreased significantly (5 countries less compared to 2 years ago, going from 54 countries in 2007 to 32 in 2024). It was also the first time that the opponents did not submit a Note Verbal of dissociation from the resolution to the Secretary General between the 2022 resolution and this one.
This demonstrate both a growing trend towards abolition worldwide and a growing uneasiness from all regions of the world with the use of the death penalty, even in countries that were historically opposed to this resolution.
