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Article(s)
Death Penalty Information Center’s Annual Summary
By Dunia Schaffa, on 27 February 2023
According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) annual review, 2022 has been the eighth consecutive year with less than 30 people executed and less than 50 people sentenced to death during the year in the United States of America.
2023
United States
Article(s)
Take Action for World Day 2022!
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 9 September 2022
Take action now! The 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty is an excellent opportunity to publicly oppose the use of this inhumane punishment and to support those who are fighting for its abolition all over the world. > Spread the word on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram: #nodeathpenalty > Find out more about the World […]
2022
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Article(s)
Abolition of the death penalty at the 50th session of the UN Human Rights Council
By Anissa Aguedal, on 19 August 2022
The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 50th Regular Session from June 13 to July 8, 2022. If you missed it, here is what happened regarding the abolition of the death penalty!
2022
Article(s)
Joint Statement to condemn the public executions and the surge of executions in 2022 in Iran
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 11 August 2022
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty strongly condemn the resumption of public executions in Iran and the surge in the executions in 2022, which goes against the international trends towards abolition of the death penalty.
2022
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Article(s)
Statement on the end of the unofficial moratorium on executions in Myanmar
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 11 August 2022
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and ACAT-France, ACAT-Germany (and their partner organization Federal Association of Vietnamese Refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany), Amnesty International, Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), Avocats Sans Frontières France, Centre for Civil and Political Rights, Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE International), Coalition Marocaine Contre la Peine […]
Moratorium
Myanmar
Article(s)
Death penalty: Singapore’s growing abolition movement
By Kirsten Han, on 5 September 2022
Article first published by the Interpreter Public support for capital punishment isn’t as overwhelmingand unshakeable as the government often portrays it to be.
2022
Singapore
Article(s)
Plans to carry out arbitrary executions in Myanmar must halt immediately
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty , on 23 June 2022
The undersigned organizations are gravely concerned at the recent announcement by the military authorities of Myanmar that the death sentences imposed on four people after grossly unfair proceedings have been approved for implementation.
2022
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Fair Trial
Legal Representation
Myanmar
Article(s)
European Protocol for full abolition turns 20
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 3 May 2022
Today is the 20th anniversary of the adoption of Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances.
2022
Armenia
Azerbaijan
Article(s)
Malaysia and the Politics Behind the Death Penalty: A Tumultuous Relationship.
By Michelle Chew, on 24 October 2022
On 6 October 2022, the Malaysian government tabled bills abolishing the mandatory death penalty.
2022
Malaysia
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Reflecting on the links between the death penalty and gender-based violence
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 25 November 2022
On 25 November 2022, International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, through the testimony of representatives of abolitionist member and partner organizations, wishes to raise awareness of the links between the death penalty and violence against women and gender minorities and call out the unjust and […]
2022
Gender
Kenya
Sri Lanka
Uganda
Women
Article(s)
Publication of a New Guide on Working with National Human Rights Institutions to Abolish the Death Penalty
By Bronwyn Dudley, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 17 November 2022
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has published a new how-to guide, in collaboration with Mr. Isidore Clément Capo-Chichi, President of the Beninese Commission on Human Rights. It is aimed for civil society organizations and illustrates how to collaborate with National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to achieve the abolition of the death penalty. In […]
2022
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Abolition of the death penalty at the United Nations Human Rights Council 51st session
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 24 October 2022
The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 51st regular session from September 12 to October 7, 2022. If you missed it, here is what happened regarding the abolition of the death penalty!
2022
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Africa : 3 abolitions of the death penalty in one year
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 20 October 2022
After Sierra Leone and the Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea has adopted a new Penal Code that abolishes the death penalty for ordinary crimes.
2022
Central African Republic
Equatorial Guinea
Sierra Leone
Article(s)
Joint statement on the death penalty and human rights of women and LGBTQIA+ individuals
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 October 2022
20th World Day against the Death Penalty On this 20th anniversary of the World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to the link between torture and the use of the death penalty and in continuation of the 2021 World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to women facing capital punishment, sentenced to death, executed, pardoned […]
2022
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Women
Article(s)
Statement of international solidarity with the families of people sentenced to death in Iran
By The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 15 September 2022
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty express its solidarity with the families and relatives of people who are sentenced to death in Iran and with the civil society organizations supporting them.
2022
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Article(s)
Mid-terms: A first half of 2022 rich in abolitions
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 13 September 2022
The first six months of 2022 have been rich for the abolitionist community with two new abolitionist countries and a new ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. However, some countries continue to use the death penalty and there […]
2022
Article(s)
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty celebrates its 20th anniversary!
on 13 May 2022
For this occasion, we wanted to give the floor to our founding member organizations. 20 years of memories, meetings, activism and fight with the hope to see one day a world without death penalty. Discover those testimonials in our newsletter.
2022
Article(s)
Advocating for the recognition of women sentenced to death in the fight for women’s rights
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 15 August 2023
From July 16 to 20, a World Coalition delegation comprising Connie Numbi of Foundation for Human Rights Initiative Uganda, Dr Anna Henga of Legal Human Right Center Tanzania, Damaris Kemunto of the Kenyan Section of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ Kenya), and Méline Szwarcberg, Women and Gender Project Manager at the World Coalition, attended […]
2023
Gender
Women
Article(s)
Abolition of the death penalty at the United Nations Human Rights Council 52nd session
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 22 May 2023
The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 52nd Regular Session from February 27 to April 4, 2023. If you missed it, here is what happened regarding the abolition of the death penalty!
2023
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
World Drugs Day: UNODC must act to stop the use of death penalty for drug-related offences and urge states to end executions
By Amnesty International, Harm Reduction International, Iran Human Rights, Transformative Justice Collective, on 27 June 2023
On 26 June, the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) is marking World Drugs Day with the theme “People first: stop stigma and discrimination, strengthen prevention”, and launched another edition of the World Drug Report. Sadly, as has been the case over the years, UNODC has failed to raise concerns over the continued use […]
2023
Drug Offenses
Article(s)
World Coalition launches glossary on gender and the death penalty
By World coalition against the deaht penalty, on 15 August 2023
As part of its efforts to mainstream a gender lens in the abolitionist movement, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty just released a glossary on gender and the death penalty. The first of its kind, this publication presents and defines terms relevant to gender-sensitive abolitionist work that recognize the various forms of gender-based discrimination […]
2023
Gender
Article(s)
Joint Declaration on the Death Penalty and Women’s Rights
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 October 2021
As we mark the 19th World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to women facing capital punishment, who have been sentenced to death, who have been executed or who have been pardoned or found not guilty, the members of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and allies of women sentenced to death take this […]
2021
Women
Article(s)
World Coalition Publishes Country Mapping Report on Women on Death Row
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 8 September 2023
To obtain a global view of existing data on women sentenced to death, the World Coalition carried out a systematization exercise of new data, compiled in a report published in August 2023.
2023
Women
Article(s)
Publication of a New Guide on Working with Parliamentarians to Abolish the Death Penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 October 2021
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, in partnership with Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), has published a new how-to guide for civil society organizations (CSOs) on how to collaborate with parliamentarians to abolish the death penalty.
2021
Women
Article(s)
Liberian Civil Society Organize to Push for Abolition
By Rescue Alternatives Liberia and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 29 April 2022
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.
2022
Liberia
Public Opinion
Article(s)
Moratorium Stays in Place in Sri Lanka and Anti-Death Penalty Petitioners Secure an Official Record in Court Proceedings to Protect Future Rights
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 28 March 2023
Petitioners challenging the potential resumption of executions in Sri Lanka experienced received reassuring news on 23 February 2023 when the Attorney General of Sri Lanka reported to the Supreme Court that the incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe has agreed to not implement executions during his tenure.
2023
Sri Lanka
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Middle East and North Africa: Abolitionist civil societies in full swing despite a difficult context
By Aurelie Placais, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 15 February 2022
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.
2022
Bahrain
Egypt
Fair Trial
Iraq
Moratorium
Morocco
Saudi Arabia
State of Palestine
Terrorism
Tunisia
Article(s)
Women Sentenced to Death Showcased on the 19th World Day Against the Death Penalty
By Elise Garel, on 3 December 2021
With the theme “Women sentenced death: an invisible reality”, the 19th World Day Against the Death Penalty aimed to highlight the issues faced by women who are sentenced to death, executed, pardoned or exonerated around the world.
2021
Cameroon
Indonesia
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Morocco
Nigeria
Pakistan
Sierra Leone
United States
Women
Article(s)
Capitalization workshop of the project for the abolition of the death penalty in sub-Saharan Africa
By Elise Garel, on 4 January 2022
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 […]
2022
Côte d'Ivoire
Moratorium
Public Opinion
Article(s)
Protest Against Executions Ordered by Minister of Justice Yoshihisa Furukawa
By Center for Prisoner Rights and Japan Innocence and Death Penalty Information Center, on 23 December 2021
On 21 December 2021, Japan’s new governement executed three men after two years with no execution during which Japan hosted the Olympics and the United Nations Congress on Criminal Justice.
2021
Japan
Legal Representation
Moratorium
Article(s)
NGO Forum and 69th Ordinary Session of the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights
By Bronwyn Dudley and Corentin Mançois, on 17 December 2021
The ACHPR (the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights) met again virtually for its 69th Ordinary Session from 15 November – 5 December 2021.
2021
Terrorism
Women
Document(s)
Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2021
By Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) , on 14 January 2022
2022
Regional body report
Belarus
United States
ruMore details See the document
This paper updates The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2020. It is intended to provide a concise update to highlight changes in the status of the death penalty in OSCE participating States since the previous publication and to promote constructive discussion of the issue. It covers the period from 1 April 2020 to 31 March 2021. Special Focus: The road to abolition in selected OSCE participating States
- Document type Regional body report
- Countries list Belarus / United States
- Available languages Смертная казнь в регионе ОБСЕ, Справочный документ 2021 года
Document(s)
The Power of Example: Whither The Biden Death Penalty Promise?
on 21 July 2022
2022
NGO report
United States
More details Download [ pdf - 4342 Ko ]
“The President, his administration and Congress must recognize that respect for human dignity and retention of the death penalty are incompatible; that respect for the rule of law must include international human rights law guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty; that upholding universal rights must include upholding the right of everyone to life and freedom from cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and that making international institutions stronger must include implementing the conclusions of UN human rights treaty bodies,”
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Compendium of case law of the European Court of Human Rights on the death penalty and extrajudicial execution
By Jeremy McBride, Council of Europe, on 24 April 2022
2022
International law - Regional body
Legal Representation
More details See the document
The compendium’s aim is to assist national judges, prosecutors and lawyers from the 46 member states of the Council of Europe to deal with extradition or deportation cases when there is a risk of the death penalty being imposed in third countries or of extrajudicial execution. It also aims at enabling legal professionals from countries where the death penalty still exists to develop arguments based upon the reasoning of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights. It contains relevant extracts from the Court’s case law, structured in a user-friendly way.
- Document type International law - Regional body
- Themes list Legal Representation
Document(s)
Amnesty International – Global Report : death sentences and executions 2023
on 29 May 2024
2024
NGO report
Trend Towards Abolition
aresfrMore details See the document
Amnesty International’s monitoring of the global use of the death penalty recorded 1,153 known executions in 2023, an increase by 31% from 883 in 2022. However, there was a significant decrease in executing countries, from 20 in 2022 to 16 in 2023.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages التقرير العالمي لمنظمة العفو الدولية أحكام وعمليات اإلعدام في 2023Informe Global de Amnistia internacional: condenas a muerte y ejecuciones 2023Amnesty international - Rapport mondial : condamnations à mort et exécutions 2023
Document(s)
Deathworthy: a mental health perspective of the death penalty
By Project 39A, on 7 October 2021
2021
Academic report
India
Mental Illness
More details See the document
A first of its kind report, Deathworthy, presents empirical data on mental illness and intellectual disability among death row prisoners in India and the psychological consequences of living on death row. The report finds that an overwhelming majority of death row prisoners interviewed (62.2%) had a mental illness and 11% had intellectual disability. The proportion of persons with mental illness and intellectual disability on death row is overwhelmingly higher than the proportion in the community population. The report also establishes correlations between conditions of death row incarceration and mental illness and ill-health. Led and conceptualised by Maitreyi Misra (Head, Mental Health and Criminal Justice, Project 39A, National Law University Delhi), the study was conducted under the guidance of Dr. Pratima Murthy (Director, NIMHANS), Dr Sanjeev Jain (Senior Professor, Deptt of Psychiatry, NIMHANS) and Dr Gitanjali Narayanan (Associate Professor, Deptt of Psychology, NIMHANS).
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list India
- Themes list Mental Illness
Document(s)
Facts and Figures 2012
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2012
2012
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
esfrMore details Download [ pdf - 251 Ko ]
On October 10, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and abolitionists worldwide will celebrate the 10th
anniversary of World Day against the Death Penalty. This year’s World Day focuses on the achievements and
progress made toward abolition. Around the world, countries have ended or restricted their use of the death
penalty. In addition, they have signified their support of ending this practice by ratifying the Second Optional
Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty
and by voting in favour of United Nations (UN) resolutions for a moratorium on the death penalty. The World
Coalition welcomes these steps forward as it also remains vigilant for the challenges ahead.
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Hoja Informativa DetalladaFaits et figures 2012
Just One More Step: Ratifying International and Regional Protocols
on 28 March 2022
As of 10 June 2024, 91 of the 173 States parties to the ICCPR have ratified or acceded to its Second Optional Protocol aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, most recently Côte d’Ivoire (3 May 2024), Kazakhstan (24 March 2022), Armenia (18 March 2021), Angola (2 October 2019) and the State of […]
2022
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo
Fiji
Ghana
Marshall Islands
Samoa
Sierra Leone
Suriname
Zambia
20th World Day Against the Death Penalty – Death penalty: a road paved with torture
on 10 June 2022
As the 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty is marked around the world, now is a time to consider and celebrate the gains the abolitionist movement has made over the past 20 years. Now, more than ever, abolitionist actors need to continue working towards the complete abolition of the death penalty worldwide, for all […]
2022
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
21st World Day Against the Death Penalty – The death penalty: An irreversible torture
on 12 June 2023
2023
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
22nd World Day Against the Death Penalty – The death penalty protects no one.
on 12 June 2024
Observed every 10 October, the World Day Against the Death Penalty unifies the global abolitionist movement and mobilizes civil society, political leaders, lawyers, public opinion and more to support the call for the universal abolition of capital punishment.
2024
Public Opinion
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
3rd World Congress Report: a 400-page strategy
on 22 April 2008
The report of the Paris World Congress, organised by Together Against the Death Penalty with the help of the World Coalition in Paris in 2007, is just out. Its aim is to serve as a “guide to abolitionist strategy”.
2008
Document(s)
Lethal injection in the modern era: cruel, unusual and racist
By Reprieve , on 24 April 2024
2024
NGO report
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
United States
More details See the document
Published on April 2024.
Researchers at Reprieve conducted an in-depth comparative study of botched lethal injection executions in the modern era of the U.S. death penalty, cross-referenced against the 1,407 lethal injection executions carried out or attempted during that period.
This report examines the phenomenon of botched executions by lethal injection, exploring the trends and contributing factors leading to botched executions through an analysis of 73 botched executions in the 1,407 lethal injection executions since 1977 (known as the modern era of the death penalty in the U.S.). This analysis used a process called multi-variable logistic regression, a type of analysis that assesses the odds of something happening considering multiple variables, to assess how identifiable characteristics (gender, age, and race) were associated with botched executions.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Article(s)
How far is China ready to reduce its use of the death penalty?
By Aurélie Plaçais, on 25 November 2013
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?
2013
China
Clemency
Drug Offenses
Terrorism
Article(s)
Capital punishment now part of Togo’s history
on 24 June 2009
Togo’s National Assembly passed a bill abolishing the death penalty on June 23, 2009. Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero, who was visiting the country, attended the parliamentary session to witness the event.
2009
Togo
Togo
Article(s)
Executions on the rise, but progress toward abolition in 2021
By Amnesty International, on 9 June 2022
On 24 May, Amnesty International published their annual report on the global use of the death penalty, which shows the overall sentences and executions in 2021 Global figures Amnesty International recorded 579 executions in 18 countries in 2021, an increase of 20% from the 483 recorded in 2020. Despite these increases, the 2021 global executions figure constitutes the second-lowest figure recorded […]
2022
Death Row Conditions
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Suriname and Haiti to lead abolitionist way in the Caribbean
By Thomas Hubert (in San Juan, Puerto Rico), on 27 June 2014
The World Coalition held its 2014 AGM in abolitionist Puerto Rico and highlighted key regional developments in the fight against the death penalty, which remains on the books of many countries in the Greater Caribbean.
2014
Barbados
Haiti
Jamaica
Puerto Rico
Suriname
Suriname
Trinidad and Tobago
Article(s)
Teaching abolition in Taiwan
on 9 December 2009
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.
2009
Public Opinion
Taiwan
Taiwan
Article(s)
Justice ministers meet as Colosseum lights up to say yes to life
By Community of Sant'Egidio, on 10 December 2012
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.
2012
Benin
Burundi
Central African Republic
France
Gabon
Italy
Kazakhstan
Kyrgyzstan
Mongolia
Public Opinion
Switzerland
Togo
United States
Uzbekistan
Zimbabwe
Article(s)
ADPAN network keeps up abolitionist fight
By Anti-Death Penalty Asian Network (ADPAN), on 10 October 2012
The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, which was founded on 10 October 2006, is again taking action this World Day Against the Death Penalty and takes stock on 10 years of progress in Asia – and on the challenges ahead.
2012
Ending the Death Penalty in Africa
on 10 June 2022
The African continent is part of the international movement towards universal abolition. In 1990, only one country, Cap Verde, had abolished the death penalty. Today, out of the 55 African Union member States, 26 have abolished the death penalty in law, 15 are applying a long-term moratorium on executions while 15 retain capital punishment. Chad […]
2022
Angola
Benin
Botswana
Burkina Faso
Burundi
Cameroon
Cape Verde
Central African Republic
Chad
Comoros
Congo
Côte d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Djibouti
Equatorial Guinea
Eritrea
Ethiopia
Gabon
Gambia
Ghana
Guinea
Guinea-Bissau
Kenya
Lesotho
Liberia
Madagascar
Mali
Mauritania
Mauritius
Mozambique
Namibia
Niger
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sao Tome and Principe
Senegal
Seychelles
Sierra Leone
Somalia
South Africa
South Sudan
Sudan
Togo
Uganda
Zambia
Zimbabwe
Article(s)
Debunking narratives for a return of the death penalty
By Venus Aves, on 13 November 2023
Time and time again, abolitionists have been making the case against the death penalty, highlighting how inhumane, inefficient and unfair it is.
2023
Drug Offenses
Maldives
Philippines
Public Opinion
Sri Lanka
Trend Towards Abolition
Turkey
Article(s)
New Hampshire: 21st State to Abolish the Death Penalty in the USA
By Aurelie Placais, on 12 June 2019
On 30 May 2019, the NH state Senate voted to override the governor’s veto. The death penalty repeal took effect immediately.
2019
United States
Article(s)
Death penalty: UN General Assembly human rights committee renews call for a moratorium on executions
By Amnesty International, on 23 November 2016
Today the overwhelming majority of UN member states once again threw their weight behind a UN General Assembly draft resolution to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. 115 of the UN’s 193 member states voted in favour of the proposal, with only 38 voting against it. The draft will now go before the UN General Assembly plenary for final adoption.
2016
Moratorium
Article(s)
Death penalty 2018: Dramatic fall in global executions
By Amnesty International, on 10 April 2019
Despite a rise in executions in some countries, global executions fell by 31% in 2018. The universal fight for the abolition of the death penalty seems to be on the right way.
2019
Article(s)
Death Sentences and Executions in 2016
By Amnesty International, on 11 April 2017
Amnesty International published its 2016 global review of the death penalty on Tuesday, April 11th 2017.Excluding China, states around the world executed 1,032 people in 2016. China executed more than all other countries in the world put together, while the USA reached a historic low in its use of the death penalty in 2016.
2017
Article(s)
Death penalty: Global abolition closer than ever as record number of countries vote to end executions
By Amnesty International, on 17 December 2018
A record number of States – 121 out of 193 member states – voted in favour of a moratorium on the death penalty at the United Nations General Assembly on December the 17th. A world without the death penalty may become a reality according to Chiara Sangiorgio, Amnesty International’s Death Penalty Expert.
2018
Moratorium
Article(s)
The death penalty at the heart of ACHPR debates
on 18 May 2012
The 51st Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) was held in Banjul from April 18 to May 2, 2012. During the session, the Commission presented its “Study on the question of the death penalty in Africa” prepared by the Working Group on the death penalty of the ACHPR.
2012
Angola
Burundi
Gabon
Moratorium
Rwanda
Somalia
South Sudan
Sudan
Togo
Article(s)
Makwanyane Institute Is Launched at Cornell Law School
By Sherrie Negrea, Cornell Law School, on 17 July 2017
Fifteen capital defense lawyers from eight African countries arrived at Cornell Law School on June 12 to begin eight days of training on how best to represent death penalty clients in the first session of the Makwanyane Institute.
2017
Legal Representation
Article(s)
Second Optional Protocol: An irreversible mechanism for abolishing the death penalty” – Denys Robiliard
on 7 September 2020
Denys Robiliard, a lawyer and former president of Amnesty International’s French section, details why the Second Optional protocol to the UN’s ICCPR is an crucial instrument to push the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.
2020
Afghanistan
Article(s)
Petition against the Death Penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 1 October 2011
139 nations have already abolished the death penalty. In December 2012, the United Nations’ General Assembly will vote on a resolution calling for a worldwide halt to its use. We, the undersigned, in recognition of the five million people who signed the moratorium petition that was handed to the United Nations’ General Assembly in […]
2011
Document(s)
2022 World Day Report
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 12 June 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 1557 Ko ]
On 10 October 2022, the World Coalition and abolitionists around the world celebrated the 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty (‘World Day’). Every year on World Day, the World Coalition highlights one problematic aspect of the Death Penalty.
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages Rapport journée mondiale 2022
Document(s)
Abolitionnist portrait 2004
By World Day against the death penalty , on 10 October 2004
2004
Campaigning
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details See the document
Abolitionnist portrait 2004
- Document type Campaigning
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Portrait d'abolitionnistes 2004
Document(s)
How to Work with Parliamentarians for the Abolition of the Death Penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 7 October 2021
2021
Working with...
World Coalition
Moratorium
Public Opinion
frMore details Download [ pdf - 18114 Ko ]
This how-to guide, elaborated with Parliamentarians for Global Action with highlights coming from the African continent, is specifically designed for the use of abolitionist civil society groups who want to work with parliamentarians for the abolition of the death penalty.
- Document type Working with... / World Coalition
- Themes list Moratorium / Public Opinion
- Available languages Comment travailler avec les parlementaires pour l'abolition de la peine de mort ?
Document(s)
REPORT WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY 2023
By world coalition against the death penalty, on 7 June 2024
2024
NGO report
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
frMore details Download [ pdf - 1029 Ko ]
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Death Row Conditions / Fair Trial
- Available languages RAPPORT JOURNÉE MONDIALE CONTRE LA PEINE DE MORT 2023
Document(s)
Special issue: a decade-long review of the death penalty for drug offences
By Harm Reduction International, on 7 May 2024
2024
NGO report
Drug Offenses
More details See the document
This report builds on the pioneering work HRI has been doing since its first ‘The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview (‘Global Overview’) in 2007. It analyses how the landscape of the death penalty for drug offences has shifted in the last decade, looking at the main trends regarding people on death row, death sentences and executions for drug offences, as well as key developments at national and international level in the period between 2014 and 2023.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Annual Report On the Death Penalty in Iran 2023
By Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) with the support of ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty), on 14 March 2024
2024
NGO report
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
More details See the document
Published on March 5, 2024
This report has been drafted by Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) with the support of ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty). Since 2012, Iran Human Rights and ECPM have been working together for the publication, international release and distribution of annual reports on the death penalty in Iran.
The 16th annual report on the death penalty by Iran Human Rights and ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty) provides an assessment and analysis of the 2023 death penalty trends in 2023 in the Islamic Republic of Iran. It sets out the number of executions in 2023, the trend compared to previous years, the legislative framework and procedures, charges, geographic distribution and a monthly breakdown of executions. Lists of the female and juvenile offenders executed in 2023 are also included in the tables. The report also looks into the abolitionist movement within Iran, including the forgiveness movement and its contribution to reducing the use of the death penalty, and provides analysis on how the international community can contribute to limiting the scope of the death penalty in Iran. The 2023 report is the result of hard work from Iran Human Rights members and supporters who took part in reporting, documenting, collecting, analysing and writing of its contents. We are especially grateful to Iran Human Rights sources inside Iran who incur a significant risk by reporting on unannounced and secret executions in prisons of 30 different provinces. Due to the very difficult context, the lack of transparency and the obvious risks and limitations that human rights defenders face in the Islamic Republic of Iran, this report does not give a complete picture of the use of the death penalty in Iran by any means. There are 46 reported executions which are not included in this report due to a lack of sufficient details or an inability to confirm cases through two different sources. However, it aims to provide the most complete and realistic figures possible in the present circumstances. The current report does not include suspicious deaths in custody, death row prisoners who died in prison before the executions or those killed under torture. ECPM supports the elaboration, editing process, publishing and distribution of this report in the framework of its international advocacy work against the death penalty. The problems of transparency on the data and information about the death penalty in Iran should be overcome by a strong strategy of distribution and dissemination. The overall objectives of this report for Iran Human Rights and ECPM are to call attention to and publicise the facts, in order to change national and international views on the situation of the death penalty in Iran, first executioner country in the world.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Document(s)
Sentenced to death without execution: Why capital punishment has not yet been abolished in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados
By Death Penalty Project, on 1 January 2020
2020
NGO report
More details See the document
The report Sentenced to Death Without Execution, Why capital punishment has not yet been abolished in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados, was published on 7 April 2020. It presents the views of opinion formers and was written by Roger Hood and Florence Seemungal with the assistance of Amaya Athill.Six independent nations in the Eastern Caribbean – Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent and the Grenadines, all members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) – and Barbados, retain the death penalty for murder. Most of these countries have not executed anyone sentenced to death for at least ten years with the vast majority not carrying out an execution for more than twenty years.This independent empirical study, which presents the views of 100 ‘opinion formers’, drawn from the seven jurisdictions, aims to shed light on why these countries hang on to capital punishment and what are the barriers to the complete abolition of the death penalty in these nations. The respondents were asked about their knowledge of the use of capital punishment in their respective countries and the extent to which, and why, they either supported the policy of retaining the death penalty or were in favour of its abolition, as well as the factors, beliefs, and assumptions that appeared to account for their government’s unwillingness to embrace complete abolition.Key findings include:- Across these seven nations, 48 of the interviewees favoured retention of the death penalty (18 of them strongly) and 52 were in favour of its abolition (30 of them strongly) Of those who favoured retention of the death penalty, only a minority were committed to retaining it: only 10 of 48 interviewees said they would ‘strongly oppose an Act of Parliament to completely abolish the death penalty by definitely voting against it’. Respondents believed the best strategies to persuade their respective governments to embrace reform were: ‘through creating an influential civil society pressure group ‘Citizens Against the Death Penalty’; by ‘mounting a legal challenge to the constitutionality of the death penalty’; or by ‘persuading the government to establish a high-level commission to report on the subject’.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Legal Representation, Mandatory Death Penalty,
Document(s)
2020 Activity Report
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 9 September 2021
2021
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 496 Ko ]
Activity Report of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty for 2020, as adopted by its General Assembly on 18 June 2021
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages Rapport d'Activité 2020
Document(s)
World Psychiatric Association position statement mental health and the death penalty
By World Psychiatric Association, on 30 November 2023
2023
Arguments against the death penalty
Fair Trial
Intellectual Disability
zh-hantMore details See the document
International law and laws of various countries prohibit the imposition of the death penalty on persons
with mental illness or developmental and intellectual disabilities due to the special barriers faced by
them in defending themselves; their limited moral culpability; and their diminished ability to
understand the nature and reason for their execution. However, due to lack of accommodations in
criminal proceedings and legal safeguards, persons with mental illness, developmental and intellectual
disabilities are at a greater risk of being sentenced to death and having their fair trial rights denied.
Authors:
Maitreyi Misra, Director (Mental Health and Criminal Justice), Project 39A, National Law University
Delhi.
Namrata Sinha, Research Associate (Mental Health and Criminal Justice), Project 39A, National Law
University Delhi.
Neeraj Gill, Professor, Health Research Institute, University of Canberra and Griffith University,
School of Medicine, Griffith University, Gold Coast, Australia.
Soumitra Pathare, Consultant Psychiatrist, Director, Centre for Mental Health Law and Policy, ILS
Law College, Pune.
Afzal Javed, President, World Psychiatric Association.
- Document type Arguments against the death penalty
- Themes list Fair Trial / Intellectual Disability
- Available languages 世界精神醫學會針對精神健康與死刑之立場聲明
Article(s)
World Coalition calls on Canada to keep up its efforts against the death penalty
on 10 March 2009
The World Coalition has sent a letter to Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, asking him to “protect its nationals sentenced to death abroad, whether it is in a democratic country or not”.
2009
Canada
Canada
Clemency
United States
Document(s)
The Philippines – Universal Periodic Review – Death Penalty – March 2022
on 31 March 2022
2022
NGO report
World Coalition
Philippines
More details Download [ pdf - 320 Ko ]
1. This report addresses the Philippines’ compliance with its international human rights
obligations with respect to the death penalty. For years, the Philippines imposed the death
penalty, particularly for so-called heinous crimes. In 2006, President Gloria MacapagalArroyo abolished the death penalty.1 Since then, however, lawmakers have introduced
numerous bills to reinstate the death penalty, with the House adopting Bill No. 7814 as
recently as March 2, 2021.2
2. The report examines the current state of the death penalty in the Philippines, including (1)
acceptance of international norms; (2) proposed legislation reintroducing the death penalty;
(3) torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment in enforcing drug control; (4)
conditions of detention; and (5) administration of justice and fair trial.
3. This report recommends that the Philippines continue the abolition of the death penalty,
refrain from reintroducing the death penalty, honor its international commitments, and
implement a human rights-based approach to anti-drug policy
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Philippines
Article(s)
Sentenced to death without execution: Why capital punishment has not yet been abolished in the Eastern Caribbean and Barbados
By The death penalty project, on 4 May 2020
Roger Hood and Florence Seemungal with the assistance of Amaya Athill, published a empirical study aims to shed light on why Eastern Caribbean States and Barbados hang on to capital punishment even though they haven’t carried out any executions in the last ten years.
2020
Barbados
Article(s)
Capital punishment abolished in Suriname
By Parliamentarians for Global Action, on 6 March 2015
The Parliament of Suriname (photo) has abolished the death penalty in law, setting an example for the Greater Caribbean – a major front line in the global fight against capital punishment. World Coalition member organisation Parliamentarians for Global Action provided crucial support for abolition in Suriname.
2015
Suriname
Suriname
Article(s)
ADPAN welcomes Mongolia’s decision abolish death penalty in law
By ADPAN, on 18 December 2015
Mongolia abolished the death penalty for all crimes in law on 3 December 2015 by adopting a new Criminal Code without any reference to capital punishment. Mongolia had already taken a strong commitment in 2012 by ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, and it was one of the World Coalition’s target countries for the follow-up of the ratification campaign. The new Criminal Code will come into effect in September 2016
2015
Article(s)
Congo’s Presidential Election Strengthens the Controversial New Constitution that Abolished Capital Punishment
By Delphine Lourtau and Marion Gauer, on 20 April 2016
On March 20, 2016, a tense presidential election in the Republic of the Congo resulted in the re-election of President Denis Sassou Nguesso, who has been in power for a total of 32 years. One of the election’s least discussed outcomes is its solidification of the new constitution that President Sassou introduced last year and that provides for abolition of the death penalty.
2016
Congo
PHIL_2_page_handout_EN
on 10 August 2021
2021
Document(s)
FHRI and PRI submission to the UN Sec-Gen report on the status of the death penalty in East Africa – Kenya and Uganda April 2012
By Penal Reform International, on 8 September 2020
2020
NGO report
Kenya
More details See the document
To date, Kenya and Uganda have not signed the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and are not party to any international or regional treaty prohibiting the death penalty. While Kenya abstained from voting in the 2010 UN General Assembly moratorium resolution, Uganda voted against it and signed the note verbale of issociation.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Kenya
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment, Discrimination, Country/Regional profiles,
Document(s)
The Physician in the Execution Chamber: No Such Thing as the Normal Pain of Dying
By Joel Zivot, California Western International Law Journal , on 1 February 2024
2024
Academic Article
United States
More details See the document
Published in October 2023.
For capital punishment to be lawful in the United States of America, it must occur without cruelty, a requirement of the traditional reading of the Eighth Amendment. There has never been a consensus on what form of execution is cruel, although some historic practices are shockingly barbaric to modern sensibilities— I think of the “draw and quarter” technique. The family of the murdered victim may fairly argue that the murderous behavior should be the minimum degree of cruelty meted out. But western countries eschew that standard and seek moderate forms, partly to deter by punishment and partly as a forfeit of the murderer’s life for the victim’s life when execution is allowed in that state. Certainly, there is substantial support for continuation of execution in states that allow it. The judges must be respectful of that, but still, they must respect the 8th amendment. At present, the prevalent method of execution in the United States is “lethal injection” using injectable medicines in very high doses that are repurposed to kill the prisoner. Because it is impossible to ask an executed individual about the cruelty experienced during their own death, the state instead relies on the empathy of witnesses to gauge the cruelty of a prisoner’s execution. Lethal injection was expected to be a bloodless execution and aimed to eliminate the visible appearance of cruelty, sometimes through the use of a paralytic.
- Document type Academic Article
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Executing the Insane Is Against the Law of the Land. So Why Do We Keep Doing It?
By Stephanie Mencimer / Mother Jones, on 1 January 2015
2015
Article
United States
More details See the document
A recent article in Mother Jones examines lingering questions in the determination of which inmates are exempt from execution because of mental incompetency. In 1986, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Ford v. Wainwright that a person could not be executed if he or she was “unaware of the punishment they’re about to suffer and why they are to suffer it.” The 2007 ruling in Panetti v. Quarterman updated that decision, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing, “A prisoner’s awareness of the State’s rationale for an execution is not the same as a rational understanding of it.” Scott Panetti (pictured), the inmate involved in the 2007 case, knew that the state of Texas planned to execute him for the murder of his in-laws, but also sincerely believed that he was at the center of a struggle between God and Satan and was being executed to stop him from preaching the Gospel.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Intellectual Disability,
Article(s)
Call to end flawed Caribbean death penalty
By Thomas Hubert, on 10 December 2012
An appeal signed by local organizations and a new report by Amnesty International denounce multiple human rights violations in the use of capital punishment in the region and ask governments to “remove the death penalty once and for all from the law books”.
2012
Antigua and Barbuda
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Dominica
Fair Trial
Grenada
Guyana
Intellectual Disability
Jamaica
Mental Illness
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Saint Lucia
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Trinidad and Tobago
Article(s)
Morocco’s death penalty takes centre stage at Marrakesh forum
By Thomas Hubert (in Marrakesh, Morocco), on 28 November 2014
Debates on the abolition of the death penalty at the World Human Rights Forum have highlighted the situation in the host country among the major fronts in the abolitionist struggle.
2014
Morocco
Article(s)
Can the US move towards abolition under Obama?
on 20 January 2009
The new president’s nominee for the post of attorney general opposes the death penalty and the number of executions and sentences is falling in the US.
2009
United States
Article(s)
Hands Off Cain holds moratorium conference in Gabon
on 11 December 2007
The Italian-based abolitionist group organised the event in Libreville on December 10, Human Rights Day 2007, with the government of Gabon and financial backing from the Dutch government.
2007
Burundi
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Gabon
Gabon
Mali
Moratorium
Article(s)
10 years with no hanging in the Caribbean
By Greater Caribbean for Life, on 19 December 2018
The Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL) notes that 19 December, 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the hanging of Charles la Place in St Kitts and Nevis. He was the last person who was hanged in the English-speaking Caribbean.
2018
Article(s)
Iran’s brave human rights defenders and their struggle against the death penalty
By Amnesty International, on 5 March 2018
As the world moves away from the death penalty, Iran continues to execute hundreds of people every year and comes second only to China in the number of executions carried out annually. Amnesty International recorded nearly 1,000 executions in Iran in 2015 and at least 567 in 2016.
2018
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Article(s)
Kazakh criminal law reform could add capital crimes
By Thomas Hubert, on 15 February 2013
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.
2013
Kazakhstan
Moratorium
Public Opinion
Article(s)
Indonesian activists face upward death penalty trend
on 10 February 2009
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.
2009
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Drug Offenses
Indonesia
Public Opinion
Article(s)
From Italian prisons to Texas death row
on 27 March 2008
A conference held near Naples, Italy last month helped around 200 attendees, most of them secondary school students, understand the death penalty situation in the US and relate it to prison issues in their own country.
2008
Death Row Conditions
Italy
United States
Article(s)
What now for Mumia?
on 28 April 2008
On 27 March, a US federal appeals court overturned Mumia Abu-Jamal’s death sentence, but not his conviction for murder. His lead counsel Robert R. Bryan gives his reaction to the ruling and the next steps in America’s most high-profile capital case.
2008
Fair Trial
United States
Article(s)
1,700-mile “Walk4Life” across the US
on 13 March 2008
American hip-hop artist Andre Latallade, also known as Capital-“X”, will walk 1,700 miles from New Jersey to Texas from March 31 to campaign against the death penalty.
2008
Drug Offenses
United States
Document(s)
Guess Who’s Coming to Jury Duty? How the Failure to Collect Juror Demographic Data Contributes to Whithewashing the Jury Box
By Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic , on 30 April 2024
2024
Academic report
United States
More details See the document
Published on February 2024.
Founded in 2001, the Berkeley Law Death Penalty Clinic seeks justice for individuals facing capital punishment by providing high-quality representation and offers students a rich opportunity for meaningful, hands-on experience in high stakes, complex litigation. The clinic also tackles problems endemic to the administration of the death penalty and the criminal legal system.
The report continues the clinic’s racial justice research and advocacy by cataloging the states that gather prospective jurors’ self-identified race and ethnicity and those that do not. It examines what courts do with the information, including whether it is provided to the court and counsel for use during jury selection, and the consequences of these choices in furthering or obstructing jury representativeness and diversity. In particular, the report shows why the collection of prospective jurors’ self-identified race and ethnicity is vital to meeting state and federal fair cross-section guarantees and eliminating the discriminatory exercise of peremptory challenges.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
Mobilization Kit World Day 2022
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 9 June 2022
2022
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 892 Ko ]
For the 20th year in a row, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty is calling for local initiatives and world-wide actions that shine a spotlight on the abolition of the death penalty. The goal of this Mobilization Kit is to inform of this year’s objectives as well provide ideas of activities that boost the global abolitionist goal. This year’s World Day is dedicated to people who, during the process of being sentenced to death, or following the sentence of their death, have been victims of torture.
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages Kit de mobilisation Journée mondiale 2022
Document(s)
World Coalition Activity Report 2022
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 22 August 2023
2023
World Coalition
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 323 Ko ]
- Document type World Coalition
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Rapport d'Activité de la Coalition Mondiale 2022
Article(s)
Mali: is abolition in sight?
on 4 June 2008
With public meetings, football matches and media action Malian activists have been covering all bases to try to push through adoption of a law abolishing the death penalty before the end of the parliamentary session.
2008
Innocence
Mali
Mali
Moratorium
Article(s)
Second Optional Protocol: Frequently Asked Questions
By Pierre Desert, on 27 June 2008
What is it? How is it implemented? You will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Second Optional Protocol below.
2008
Article(s)
Benin on track to achieve abolition
on 7 February 2010
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.
2010
Benin
Benin
Public Opinion
Article(s)
Marc Bossuyt: “Countries that have not signed up to the Protocol should feel isolated”
By Pierre Désert, on 27 June 2008
Marc Bossuyt was UN Special Rapporteur for drawing up the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. He is now president of Belgium’s Constitutional Court.
2008
Article(s)
Call for Moratorium on Executions Gains Record-High Support at Committee Vote
By Amnesty International & Comunità di Sant'Egidio, on 16 November 2018
Today the international community offered unprecedented support to a UN call to halt executions when the Third Committee of the UN General Assembly considered a draft resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
2018
Moratorium
Document(s)
Holdouts in the South Pacific: Explaining Death Penalty Retention in Papua New Guinea and Tonga
By Daniel Pascoe and Andrew Novak, on 1 September 2022
2022
Academic report
Papua New Guinea
Tonga
More details See the document
The South Pacific forms a cohesive region with broadly similar cultural attributes, legal systems and colonial histories. A comparative analysis starts from the assumption that these countries should also have similar criminal justice policies. However, until 2022, both Papua New Guinea and Tonga were retentionist death penalty outliers in the South Pacific, a region home to seven other fully abolitionist members of the United Nations. In this article, we use the comparative method to explain why Papua New Guinea and Tonga have pursued a different death penalty trajectory than their regional neighbours. Eschewing the traditional social science explanations for death penalty retention, we suggest two novel explanations for ongoing retention in Papua New Guinea and Tonga: the law and order crisis in the former and the traditionally powerful monarchy in the latter.
This article was first published in Crime Justice Journal: https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/issue/view/119
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list Papua New Guinea / Tonga