Abolitionist advocacy at the 91st session of the CEDAW Committee and side event during the 59th session of the Human Rights Council.
Advocacy
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (World Coalition) actively advocated during the 91st session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), held in Geneva from 16 June to 4 July 2025, to denounce gender-based discrimination in the application of the death penalty in Afghanistan and Thailand.
It continued its efforts to highlight the situation of women and LGBTQ+ people facing capital punishment by organising a side event on these issues on 18 June 2025 during the 59th session of the Human Rights Council (HRC).
World Coalition highlights gender discrimination in the application of the death penalty
Ahead of the session, the World Coalition and The Advocates for Human Rights submitted a report for the review of Thailand and Afghanistan, highlighting the discrimination faced by women facing the death penalty. These reports called for an end to gender-based persecution and violence, strict respect for the rights of women and LGBTQ+ persons sentenced to death, and access to fair justice that takes into account gender-related mitigating circumstances.
The CEDAW Committee recommends that Thailand abolish the death penalty
The CEDAW Committee has affirmed its abolitionist position and called on the Thai government to take the necessary measures to abolish the death penalty. In trials where women face the death penalty, it recommends that all gender-related mitigating factors be taken into account: in this case, gender-based violence, mental health, disabilities, poverty, economic pressures and family responsibilities. Finally, it calls on the country to address prison conditions (overcrowding, limited access to mental health services, inadequate provisions for mothers and pregnant women), which also affect women sentenced to death.
A side event: “Women and LGBTQ+ people facing capital punishment” during the 59th session of the Council
On the occasion of the 59th session of the Human Rights Council (16 June – 8 July 2025), the World Coalition hosted a side event highlighting the specific challenges faced by women and LGBTQ+ people in the context of capital punishment. Bahar Mirhonesseni (Cornell Centre on the Death Penalty Worldwide), Duaaa Dhainy (European Saudi Organisation for Human Rights), Jaipreet Kaur (Reprieve) and Susan Kigula (International Network of Formerly Incarcerated Women) shared their experiences on this subject, highlighting the deeply discriminatory judicial processes affecting women and LGBTQ+ people, who are already victims of economic, social, gender-based and sexual violence. This session highlighted the need to develop gender-sensitive abolitionist advocacy capable of supporting the dynamics that lead to the abolition of the death penalty in many countries.
