14th World Day Against the Death Penalty
World Day
Every year, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty calls for local initiatives worldwide. The events involve citizens and organisations supporting the abolition of capital punishment and comprise debates, concerts, press releases or any other action which would give the global abolition claim an international boost.
This Day is aimed at both political leaders and public opinion in countries where the death penalty has or has not yet been abolished: people have to remember the meaning of abolition and pass it down through the generations.
The World Day also unifies the abolitionist movement and gives a global support to the sometimes isolated action taken by its abolitionist on the ground. It encourages and consolidate the political and general awareness of the movement against the death penalty.
Every year, Word Day focuses on a different problematic aspect of the death penalty. Including failures of justice (2006), the inhumanity of the death penalty (2011) and the death penalty for terrorism-related offenses for 2016.
Despite the progressive abolition of the death penalty all over the world, expansion of the death penalty in other areas, such as terrorism, is a great cause for concern. Over the last ten years, Bangladesh, India, Nigeria, Tunisia and others have adopted laws expanding the scope of the death penalty by including acts of terrorism among the offences punishable by death. Often these types of offences, which do not necessarily result in lethal consequences, are drafted in very broad and undefined language, meaning that they could be applied to a wide variety of activities. More recently, Pakistan, Jordan and Chad have resumed executions in the name of the fight against terrorism after years of moratorium. The main objective of the 2016 World Day is to raise public awareness around the application of the death penalty for terrorism-related offenses to reduce its use. To achieve it, the World Coalition has developed several tools (poster, leaflet, facts and figures, detailed factsheet and mobilization kit) and will coordinates the mobilization for 10 October all over the world.
