All about Terrorism

On the occasion of the publication of the Human Rights Watch World Report 2022, the World Coalition looks back at recent developments and civil society mobilization against the death penalty in the Arab world.

The ACHPR (the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights) met again virtually for its 69th Ordinary Session from 15 November – 5 December 2021.

La CADHP (Commission Africaine des Droits de l’Homme et des Peuples) s’est réunie virtuellement pour sa 68ème session ordinaire du 14 avril au 4 mai 2021.

The ACHPR (the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights) met virtually for its 68th Ordinary Session from 14 April – 4 May 2021.

From January until August 2019, Iraq executed more than 100 individuals accused of being affiliated with Daesh, according to Kurdish media network Rudaw.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia once again made its mark on the international scene by executing 37 people sentenced to death for terrorism in six regions of the country on Tuesday, 23 April 2019, 36 of whom were beheaded, while the last was crucified.

Hands off Cain held a series of meetings, one year after the launch of the project “Containing the death penalty in time of war on terrorism in Somalia, Tunisia and Egypt”, in Nairobi, Kenya, to assess the work done in Somalia.

The World Coalition was invited to take part in the 6th international Conference on Human Rights, on February 22nd, 2017 in Beirut. addressing the very worrying situation in Bahrain, the event resulted in a series of calls and recommendations.

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.

10 October saw the release of several publications and tools to raise awareness on the death penalty in all regions of the world. Take a look!

Asia has the highest number of retentionist countries in the world. Eight members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) retain the death penalty and four of them carried out executions in 2015.

Many African organizations and institutions raised their voices on the occasion of the 14th World Day against the Death Penalty, whose last edition, celebrated on October 10, was dedicated to the use of death penalty for terrorism-related crimes.

Khachig Ghosn is a 22-year-old student of social work at the Lebanese University. Three years ago, he witnessed an explosion in Beirut. Despite this dramatic experience, he is against the use of the death penalty and he is convinced that capital executions have no deterrent effect on terrorism.Ghosn is aware that changes in his country take a very long time, but he has a positive long-term vision and hopes that the death penalty will be abolished.

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.

From 21th to 23rd of June, the 6th World Congress against the death penalty took place in Oslo. These three days constituted an opportunity to gather the civil society, the political actors and lawyers worldwide, in order to discuss strategies aiming at abolishing the death penalty around the world. Among the noteworthy debates which were organized during this congress, the roundtable that was dedicated to terrorism (being also the theme of the next World Day against the death penalty, organized by the World Coalition) raised significant issues related to the use of the death penalty while countering terrorism.

Earlier in November, the UN Human Rights Committee released its concluding observations on Iraq’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee and civil society’s representatives specifically dwelled on Iraq’s application of the death penalty.

The Moroccan Coalition against the Death Penalty held its AGM in Rabat on 27 and 28 February. An unprecedented debate around the death penalty related to terrorism took place during the event.

A report on the death penalty by the UN mission to Iraq has unearthed startling new information about the use of capital punishment in the country. The study was released on the heels of the UN’s human rights review of Iraq, where the death penalty emerged as a primary concern.

The new Kazakh Penal Code provides for an increase in the number of capital crimes, even though Kazakhstan has been moving away from the death penalty for years and has a stated policy of meeting international standards.

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.

Iraq emerges as the country with the fastest-growing number of executions in Amnesty International’s new annual report on the death penalty. The World Coalition’s submission for Iraq’s upcoming UN human rights review calls for a moratorium on abusive executions.

The number one executioner in the world recently made national and international commitments to continuing to reform its death penalty, but how far is China really ready to go?

Iraq’s ambassador to Paris met representatives from the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty as the country has been accelerating the rhythm of executions.

While Africa has been the fastest region in abolishing capital punishment in recent years, lawyers from Uganda and Nigeria say they are facing increasing from the authorities to use the death penalty.

The Iraqi institutions established after the US-led invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein have reinstated the death penalty and extended its scope since 2004. In this op-ed article, Iraqi Coalition Against the Death Penalty president Nassr Abood calls for alternative sentences and for a strong stance from the international community.

Everyone agrees that the highest international standards should apply in the fight against drug. But what about the standards used in punishing traffickers- and the inappropriate use of the death penalty against such criminals?

International abolitionists gathered in Morocco have discussed the recent wind of change in the region and the resulting hope for the abolition of the death penalty.

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.

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network rounds up reports from the main events organised across the Asia-Pacific region for World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10.

Legal action by local activists and pressure from international organizations have succeeded in stopping plans by Nigeria’s authorities to execute hundreds of death row inmates.

Several UN member states taking part in Iraq’s UN human rights review have asked Bagdad to restore a moratorium on the use of the death penalty and to move towards abolition.

The World Coalition organised a round table on action to be taken to support the ratification of the UN’s protocol on the abolition of the death penalty, as part of International CURE’s conference in Geneva in June.

New Liberian legislation makes some violent crimes punishable by death, in violation of the country’s international obligations.

A study of the rulings by New Delhi’s Supreme Court for more than 50 years concluded that “the administration of the death penalty in India is manifestly flawed”.