All about Public Opinion

À maintes reprises, les abolitionnistes ont plaidé contre la peine de mort en soulignant son caractère inhumain, inefficace et injuste.

Time and time again, abolitionists have been making the case against the death penalty, highlighting how inhumane, inefficient and unfair it is.

Le 28 février 2023, le Conseil des droits de l’homme a tenu son panel biennal de haut niveau sur la question de la peine de mort.

On February 28 2023, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council held its biennial high-level panel on the issue of the death penalty.

La 31ème Session de la Commission sur la Prévention du Crime et la Justice Criminelle de l’ONUDC s’est tenue à Vienne du 16 au 20 mai 2022. A cette occasion, la Japan Federation of Bar Associations a organisé un évènement parallèle : « Abolir la peine de mort : opinion publique et chemin vers l’abolition », qui s’est tenu […]

The 31st Session of the Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice of the ODC took place in Vienna from the 16th to the 20th of May 2022. At this occasion, the Japan Federation of Bar Associations organized a side-event: “Abolishing the Death Penalty: Public Opinion and the Road to Abolition”, which was held online […]

On 12 April 2022, Rescue Alternatives Liberia (RAL) orchestrated a one-day forum on abolition in Liberia with the support of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. The outcomes of this event were very promising, and time will tell if abolition in Liberia is near.

Saudi Arabia: the largest mass execution in this country in years The kingdom of Saudi Arabia executed 81 men on March 12, 2022, all of whom had been convicted of a wide range of offences, including “terrorism”- related crimes, murder, armed robbery, and arms smuggling. Those put to death included seven Yemenis, one Syrian and […]

Virginia’s historic abolition of the death penalty highlighted a year in which public opinion polls, executions, and new death sentences all signaled continued erosion of support for capital punishment across the United States.

Member organizations of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and African ACATs (Action des Chrétiens pour l’Abolition de la Torture) met in Abidjan (Côte d’Ivoire) for the capitalization workshop of Phase 2 of the project for the abolition of the death penalty in sub-Saharan Africa, organized on 29 and 30 November by the World […]

On Friday 23rd July 2021, Sierra Leone’s Parliament unanimously abolished the death penalty by passing the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act.

On 21 April, we published our annual report on the global use of the death penalty, which shows that in 2020 the world got one step closer to freeing itself from this cruel punishment.

The United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice was held in Kyoto, Japan from 7 to 12 March 2021.

As the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice is about to begin in Kyoto, Japan, the undersigned organizations urge the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and its subsidiary bodies, including the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC); and all UN member states, including the Congress host country Japan, to make […]

The UN Biennial High Level Panel on the Death penalty focused on the deterrent effect capital punishment has on crime. Representatives from member states, NGOs and NHRIs made statements to the high level panel discussing the deterrent theory.

Joint Oral Statement delivered during the United Nations 46th Human Rights Council Biennial high-level panel discussion on the question of the death penalty.

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have long been at the forefront of the movement for human dignity, as the main, highly-specialized – and sometimes isolated– champions for social justice. However, a new generation of advocates from the private sector, whose primary center of interest or area of expertise seems disconnected from international human rights standards, has been […]

The discussion was chaired by Mario Marazitti, who stood in front of broadcasted live images of the light-draped Colosseum in Rome, Italy, displaying the slogan of this international key event, “No Justice Without Life”.

Quelques jours après été battu lors des élections face à Joe Biden, le gouvernement de Donald Trump a continué à programmer de nouvelles exécutions fédérales, poursuivant la mise en œuvre d’un programme cruel, inhumain et dégradant en matière de peine de mort. Le président Trump avait permis la reprise des exécutions fédérales en juillet 2020, […]

A few days after losing the national election to President-Elect Joe Biden, the Donald Trump administration in the United States of America has continued scheduling a spree of federal executions in an attempt to push its cruel, inhuman and degrading death penalty agenda forward. President Trump resumed federal executions in July 2020, breaking a 17-year […]

This survey, conducted by the GAMAAN Institute between the 3rd and the 11th of September 2020, includes responses from about twenty thousand people living inside Iran.

Two more federal executions were carried out at the end of August in the United States of America. The abolitionist movement in the United States denounces human rights violations, challenges the cost of the death penalty in this time of crisis and even opposes its disrespect for tribal sovereignity.

The actors involved in the universal abolition of the death penalty outlined the new challenges ahead in the fight for the right to life.

The 7th World Congress is coming to an end, after four days of intense exchanges and debates to advance the cause of abolition. A look back at this last morning and the closing ceremony.

The programme of the 7th World Congress continued today with more than fifteen events held at the Egmont Palace. Plenary meetings, round tables, workshops, screenings and signings… This is a non-exhaustive summary of this new day.

Launched yesterday, abolitionists from around the world have gathered in Brussels for the 7th World Congress Against the Death Penalty organized by ECPM in partnership with the World Coalition that will continue until Friday. Looking back on the last two days of a Congress that has been thus far rich in emotion

Follow the 7th World Congress Against the Death Penalty taking place in Brussels from 26 February to 1st March 2019 on Twitter: #7congressECPM

On the occasion of the screening of the movie Lindy Lou Juror number 2 on Monday 25 June 2018, abolitionist associations such as Amnesty International, ACAT France, Together Against The Death Penalty French Collectif Free Mumia! and the World Coalition against the Death Penalty met at the Centre Wallonie Bruxelles in Paris.

The 22 and 23 June 2018, the Greater Caribbean for Life, the Death Penalty Project, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association, the University of the West Indies and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty met in Barbados to launch their joint three year project in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.

Mass executions in Iraq since 2017 seem to hide behind the scourge of terrorism, the major argument given by the current government. Will May 2018 elections defeat this government policy and the misuse of the country’s anti-terrorism law to sentence to death?

The 1st and 2nd June 2018, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), Ensemble contre la peine de mort (Together against the death penalty, ECPM) and Culture pour la paix et la justice (Culture for peace and justice, CPJ) organised in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) a regional parliamentary seminar entitled “Abolition of the death penalty in Africa: the role of parliamentarians”, with the support of the European Union and of the Honourable Aubin Minaku, Speaker of the National Assembly of the DRC and Member of PGA.

The Death Penalty Project, in partnership with Veritas, launches “12 Years Without an Execution: Is Zimbabwe Ready for Abolition?” a national public opinion study, providing for the first time comprehensive and contextualised data on public attitudes towards the death penalty in Zimbabwe – a country that has not carried out any executions in over 12 years.

The 62nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the African Union body responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa, was held from April 25th to May 9th, 2018 in Nouakchott, Mauritania.The death penalty was at the heart of the debates throughout this Session, during panel discussions, side-events or during the review of the State’s periodic reports.

Through this joint statement twenty one national and international NGOs, calls upon Mauritanian authorities to reverse the recent adoption of a law on apostasy related crimes making the death penalty mandatory for blasphemy.

The report shows that in 2017 at least 517 people were executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This number is comparable with the execution figures in 2016 and confirms the relative reduction in the use of the death penalty compared to the period between 2010 and 2015.

In October 2017, Pakistan has agreed to initiate efforts to narrow down the scope of the death penalty. This first step is the result of a strong mobilization from Pakistani and international organizations, in particular during World Day.

Despite its national and international commitment not to carry out any executions, Philippines is taking worrying measures toward the reinstatement of the death penalty for drug offenses. Determined to thwart the government’s plan, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has taken various actions, including an awareness campaign for the 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty.

On October 10, 2017, all the abolitionists all around the world joined their forces to celebrate the 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty. The mobilization was particularly strong in Sub-Saharan Africa where many events were organized. Thus, the pugnacity of African abolitionists put the abolition of the death penalty at the heart of every discussion.

Concerned by the population’s view on the death penalty, the Human Rights Defenders and Abolitionist Advocates in Democratic Republic of the Congo Network [Réseau des associations de défense des droits de l’homme et militants abolitionnistes de la peine de mort en République Démocratique du Congo (RADHOMA)] organized several training courses for journalists in the past few months.

Check what you can do for 10 October. Browse the calendar of events and the map to prepare and promote the events planned around the world on the big day.

Organized by the National Algerian Committee in partnership with the Boumerdes bar association, a seminar on the death penalty took place the 28th and 29th of April in Algeria. Gathering mainly academics, lawyers and representatives of the civil society, this seminar had the ambition to contribute to the “long process for the final abolition of the death penalty in Algeria”. The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty was represented by Florence Bellivier, Deputy Secretary General of the International Federation of the Leagues of Human Rights (FIDH).

On Tuesday, April 18th 2017, Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) held an award ceremony at the City Hall of Paris for their “Educational Project on Human Rights and the Abolition of the Death Penalty”.

In March 2017, the 60th Commission on Narcotic Drugs annual meeting in Vienna took place. During this meeting, governments have been encouraged to “promote proportionate national sentencing policies for drug-related offences”. The death penalty was addressed during several side events.

Nine international organisations are calling upon the Philippines to uphold its international obligations and not to restore death penalty in the country.

With 30 death sentences pronounced and 20 executions carried out, the use of the death penalty in the USA saw a new record decline in 2016, as reported in the Death Penalty Information Center’s year-end report. Nevertheless, the abolitionists are worried that 2017 may not be so successful.

Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Côte d’Ivoire (ACAT CI) has conducted advocacy activities between May and November 2016 in order to raise awareness on the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (OP2), aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. This project has been supported by the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF) and the International Federation of ACAT (FIACAT).

On 30 November, the International Day of “Cities for Life” was celebrated around the world. An opportunity to raise awareness among the civil society on the universal abolition.

To date, the Democratic Republic of the Congo maintains the death penalty in its legislation. The proponents of the capital punishment argue that it remains an efficient tool for deterrence in general as well as a solution to the recurring criminal phenomenon hitting the country’s Eastern part.

At the end of October, the civil society gathered for the NGO Forum preceding the 59th African Commission for Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR): an occasion to put the death penalty on the agenda of the African Commission and to make the calls for the abolition heard. Nonetheless, difficulties on the path towards the abolition in the African continent remain.

The first Nigerien abolitionists’ forum on the death penalty was held in Niamey on November 4 and 5, 2016. The NGO Réseau progrès et développement humanitaire du Niger (REPRODEVH-NIGER) and the Nigerien Coalition Against the Death Penalty organised the event, which was sponsored by the Ministry of Justice, the National Commission on Human Rights and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. The initiative met with great success.

Guinean Parliament put an end to Guinea’s de facto moratorium by abolishing the death penalty in law in this country.

On the occasion of the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty held on 21-23 June this year, the World Coalition gathered in Oslo, with about 150 delegates attending the Congress representing more than 50 member organizations.

On May 23rd, 2016, the closing ceremony of the project “My pencil for abolition” took place at the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This project was organized by the team of “Educating and Raising Awareness on Abolition” in the association Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM): it consisted in involving a few middle and high school’s classes, from Lorraine, Belfort and the Parisian region, in the elaboration of articles and cartoons in order to create a magazine committed to the abolition of the death penalty, known as the Abolition Mag.

So said Raphael Chenuil Hazan, director of ECPM, at the opening ceremony of the Asian Regional Congress in Kuala Lumpur.

A new handbook gives members of parliaments arguments and advice to work towards abolition in their countries and to support their colleagues abroad.

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, a coalition hosted by Amnesty International in London since 2006, has become an independent organisation registered in Malaysia and held its first AGM in Taipei, Taiwan on 4-5 December.

Publisher Joshua Herman and photographer Marc Asnin want to issue thousands of American schools with a book presenting the final statements of executed prisoners in an attempt to remind supporters and opponents of the death penalty alike that it targets human beings.

World Coalition member organisation FIACAT and its affiliate in Mali, ACAT Mali organised a seminar to raise awareness on the abolition of the death penalty in Mali in Bamako on 29 and 30 September 2014.

The World Coalition has redesigned its online library to help visitors find the documents they need in its multilingual database of resources and campaigning tools on capital punishment.

The signature of an African treaty on the abolition of the death penalty is a priority to firm up the trend moving away from capital punishment across the continent.

According to the Death Penalty Information Center’s annual report, the number of death sentences in the United States has remained near record lows, a new State repealed capital punishment and public support for the death penalty fell to a 40-year low.

As World Day Against the Death Penalty events unfolded on an unprecedented scale across the region, local activists and international organisations took a firm stance against capital punishment across the Caribbean.

To celebrate the 11th World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to the Greater Caribbean, a regional conference is organised by local civil society in Trinidad and Tobago on October, 1st.

A detailed opinion survey commissioned by the Death Penalty Project in Malaysia found that while most people initially respond supportively when asked about mandatory death sentences, their opinion changes when confronted with practical cases and additional information.

European Union officials and Belarusian activists denounce Minsk’s lack of political will to tackle the death penalty.

Ending the death penalty means finding replacement sanctions to punish former capital crimes – while taking into accounts human rights standards.

From courageous political leaders to traditional African values, the International Commission against the Death Penalty’s analysis of the factors leading to the abolition of capital punishment in 13 countries offers advice to retentionist countries.

The meeting of the World Coalition Steering Committee on 12 and 13 April 2013 in Taipei, attended by twenty people, was tarnished the same week by the execution of six prisoners sentenced to death, even though high-level assurances had been given by the State with regard to reducing such barbarous acts.

A report published by the Death Penalty Project and the Center for Prisoners’ Rights shows that Japanese law and practice on capital punishment violate international treaties, and questions the high level of public support for the death penalty reported by the authorities.

As Kazakhstan’s authorities prepare to introduce a new penal code, World Coalition members are warning against attempts to broaden the offences punishable by death.

The Community of Sant’Egidio conducted a crucial political networking exercise in favour of abolition in Rome at the end of November before 1,600 cities lit up their monuments against the death penalty.

Participants to the meeting held by FIACAT in Senegal mid-November received training on regional abolitionist activism and set priorities for their actions.

Citizens of the largest US state have voted against an initiative to replace the death penalty with life sentences, but the results show abolitionist views have gained significant ground through the referendum campaign.

The Regional Congress on the Death Penalty held in Rabat, Morocco between 18-20 October highlighted the key role of civil society in pushing the abolitionist agenda in a region affected by deep changes.

A two-day conference organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio on the death penalty in the Greater Caribbean took place in Madrid between 17-19 October, highlighting issues of rising crime and international influence in the region.

Kigali hosted the Inter-African conference against the death penalty on 13 and 14 October.

Conferences, round tables, talks, tours, meetings with politicians, debates, press conferences, sit-ins, cultural evenings, marches and speeches are among the many events that will take place in Africa for this 9th World Day Against the Death Penalty.

On 19 and 20 September, World Coalition member organisation Penal Reform International (PRI) is bringing 120 people from retentionist countries to London to discuss global trends towards abolition of the death penalty.

Jeanne Woodford, who used to oversee excutions in California, has become the executive director of the prominent anti-capital punishment organisation Death Penalty Focus.

The revolution in Tunisia and the resulting changes in the political landscape may offer unprecedented new opportunities for abolitionist organizations

The abolition of the capital punishment figured prominently at the 49th session of the African Commission of Human and People’s Rights.

The winds of change have brought fresh air to the abolitionist cause in countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, with new faces in power reigniting a stalled debate.

Governor Pat Quinn’s signing abolition into law last week in Illinois has reopened the debate on the death penalty throughout the country. Several states are currently considering abolition.

The death row facility of California at San Quentin finds itself at the center of a fierce debate over the future of a hugely expensive and increasingly unpopular death penalty system.

A bill which aimed to facilitate executions in the Caribbean nation was defeated in Parliament on February 28.

International abolitionists gathered on the Caribbean territory to promote their message and to show solidarity with the local authorities against capital punishment.

On 10.10.10, the 8th World Day against the Death Penalty focused on ending the use of the death penalty in the United States of America. Since 2003, abolitionists have taken actions all over the world every 10 October to raise awareness and opposition to the death penalty.

NGOs and international organisations opposing the death penalty in Arab countries have met in Egypt for the second time. The World Coalition presented them with a new version of its study on abolition in the region.

What started as an effort to save an Iranian woman sentenced to death by stoning is turning into a global movement for human rights and against capital punishment.

Activists in Japan and elsewhere have criticised Justice Minister Keiko Chiba for ordering two men to be hanged in Tokyo on July 28 despite her earlier abolitionist statements.

One of the two main political parties in the largest US State has taken a formal stance against capital punishment – with help from local abolitionist organisations.

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights held a regional conference on the death penalty in North and West Africa in Benin mid-April.

After Taiwan’s justice minister was forced to step down for not signing execution warrants, local and international abolitionists rushed in to restore a balanced debate and protect the country’s 44 death row inmates.

You can devote your life to crime reduction in retentionist countries and affirm your opposition to the death penalty. James Abbott is a member of this growing category.

At least 76% of executions worldwide take place in Asia. Despite these impressive figures, Bikramjeet Batra, and indian lawyer with Amnesty International, is optimistic and explains that “the asian trend is toward abolition”.

A former death row inmate and the grandson of a murder victim explain why compassion – not the death penalty – is the way to heal wounds.

Benin’s President Thomas Yayi Boni, one of the World Congress’s guests, has asked the parliament to enshrine the abolition of the death penalty in the constitution. Justice Minister Victor Tokpanou details Benin’s path to abolition.

Tsou Tzung Han is a Taiwanese teacher who actively took part in educational activities organised around World Day Against the Death Penalty. He writes about his experience with his students.

Speaking at a symposium on the death penalty organised in Tokyo by the Swedish presidency of the European Union, a Japanese minister expressed his commitment for abolition.

An abolitionist wave of marches, cultural happenings, petition signings and educational events swept across the world for the 7th World Day on October 10.

On 10 October 2009, World Day Against the Death Penalty, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty wishes to teach abolition to all citizens around the world, especially to teenagers aged 14 to 18.

Indonesia-based researcher Dave McRae finds that a core group of abolitionists are battling a rise in the number of executions, death sentences and death row inmates in the country.

Jamaican lawmakers voted to keep capital punishment and the government seems determined to use it. Caribbean abolitionists are battling similar moves across the region.

The French presidency of the European Union organised a meeting between EU diplomats and US abolitionists in November to strengthen a discreet but long-standing partnership.

On November 30, monuments in nearly 800 cities across the globe will light up to celebrate “Cities for Life – Cities Against the Death Penalty”.

Although European activists were slow to take action on World Day Against the Death Penalty, their Asian counterparts showed their strength, especially in the World Coalition’s target countries.

On October 10, World Day Against the Death Penalty, the World Coalition took part in a South Korean event aimed at bringing lawmakers closer to the abolition of capital punishment.

Thai human rights activists led by the Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) organised a series of seminars with religious leaders to raise their awareness and discuss their perspectives on abolition.

A recent visit to Taiwan by a joint World Coalition-ADPAN delegation left the impression that the Asian island was on course to “join a global trend towards abolition of the death penalty”, as was reported in the local media.

The Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR), a Gaza-based NGO and a member of the World Coalition, organised two meetings on the death penalty in March.

Teng Biao is one of the rare activists who call for the immediate abolition of the death penalty from within China. In the past weeks, the police confiscated his passport and he received threats.

The majority of executions take place in Asia. But this is also the continent where campaigners have developed a fantastic regional abolitionist network, one that reaches across borders, languages and religions.

As part of its 2008 annual conference, the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP) organised a brainstorming session to explore the question: “How can the international community support us in our efforts to abolish the death penalty in the US?”

For once, the annual conference of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty opened on an optimistic note.

Wherever the Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture (ACAT) is present, the struggle against the death penalty is an important element within their commitment to respect for human dignity.

After the Supreme Court held a hearing much awaited by the abolitionist community on January 7th, we all need to reassess our strategy for abolition in America, writes Sandrine Ageorges.

The abolition of the death penalty in New Jersey on December 17 could pave the way for other US states. Death Penalty Focus’s Speedy Rice explains how some of them may make the move.

France, Peru, Togo, India… Abolitionist activists sounded a rallying call for the 5th World Day Against the Death Penalty across numerous countries via a variety of initiatives.

Iran has taken a dreadful step in the wrong direction in the summer of 2007, through a combination of an increase in executions and the repression of activists opposed to the death penalty.

The execution of Johnny Ray Conner, the 400th inmate put to death in Texas since the US reinstated capital punishment 31 years ago, has attracted heavy criticism from abolitionist activists and political institutions.

Rwanda and Burundi are apparently close to abolishing the death penalty; in the Democratic Republic of Congo, all references to capital punishment have been removed from the text of the constitution. The death penalty is on borrowed time in these countries scarred by conflicts. For the first time, the region’s abolitionists met in Paris and called for the creation of a regional coalition.

As of today, no country in North Africa and the Middle-East has yet abolished the death penalty. However, there are positive signs that the region is now ready to debate the issue – as can be seen from the profusion of discussions and exchanges that took place during the 3 rd World Congress against the Death Penalty.