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Article(s)
A Very Moving and Inspiring Closing Ceremony
By Dunia Schaffa, on 30 January 2023
The Closing Ceremony of the 8th World Congress celebrated people who play an immense role in the process of the abolition of the death penalty, with an awards ceremony and a tribute.
2023
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Access to justice and discrimination: the World Coalition organizes a briefing for the UN Working Group on Discrimination against Women and Girls
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 26 September 2024
2024
Gender
Article(s)
“We are the future” – Kids Against the Death Penalty
on 28 February 2010
The teenage nephews of an American death row inmate started an anti-death penalty organization that has grown into a pillar of the Texas abolitionist community.
2010
Innocence
Switzerland
United States
Article(s)
A Look Back at the 20th Anniversary of the World Day Against the Death Penalty
By Dunia Schaffa, on 27 January 2023
“Psychologically I am no longer human.”. This tweet by the World Organization Against Torture, quoting an interview with Richard Yav, a former security guard who was wrongly sentenced to death for 20 years in Benin, sheds light on the various impacts of torture.
2023
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Article(s)
The Rights of Children Whose Parents Are Sentenced to Death – The Case of Tunisia
By Lisa Borden, volunteer with The Advocates for Human Rights, on 30 October 2019
I joined Bronwyn Dudley of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and Choukri Latif of the Coalition tunissiene contre la peine de mort (a Tunisian anti-death penalty NGO), to address the committee regarding Tunisia’s failure to implement the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced to death or were executed.
2019
Juveniles
Tunisia
Document(s)
Zimbabwe – Universal Periodic Review – Death Penalty – July 2021
By Eleos Justice, Monash University, on 15 July 2021
2021
NGO report
World Coalition
Zimbabwe
More details Download [ pdf - 271 Ko ]
This report addresses Zimbabwe’s compliance with its human rights obligations with respect to its use of the death penalty. The United Nations considers Zimbabwe a de facto abolitionist country. It has not carried out any executions since 2005. Courts, however, continue to sentence individuals to death, with 88 people currently on death row as of December 2020, after 8 sentences were commuted in April 2020. The new Zimbabwean Constitution (the “2013 Constitution”) has replaced the mandatory death penalty with a discretionary sentence for the crime of murder committed under aggravating circumstances. The 2013 Constitution further outlaws the imposition of the death penalty on women, men over the age of 70, and men under the age of 21 at the time the offence was committed. In its 2016 Universal Periodic Review, Zimbabwe noted all recommendations related to the death penalty, partly on the ground that Zimbabwean public opinion did not support abolition of death penalty. Since 2016, developments demonstrate a more positive attitude among the public and opinion leaders toward further reform and the abolition of death penalty.
This report focuses on various issues concerning the death penalty and related international human rights instruments, and on conditions of detention and acts of torture and ill treatment of people in detention. Specifically, this report recommends that Zimbabwe abolish the death penalty, improve detention conditions, ratify relevant human rights treaties, and increase resources dedicated to improving the justice system.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Zimbabwe
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in 2023: Year End Report
By The Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC), on 25 January 2024
2024
NGO report
Public Opinion
United States
More details See the document
Published on December 01, 2023.
Innocence cases dominated much of the media’s attention on death penalty cases in 2023. While these prisoners were largely unsuccessful in the courts, there was unprecedented support for their claims from state legislators, prosecutors, judges, and other elected officials, some of whom declared themselves newly disillusioned with use of the death penalty in their state. This year is the 9th consecutive year with fewer than 30 people executed (24) and fewer than 50 people sentenced to death (21, as of December 1). The 23 men and one woman who were executed in 2023 were the oldest average age (tied with 2021) and spent the longest average number of years in prison in the modern death penalty era before being executed. As in previous years, most prisoners had significant physical and mental health issues at the time of their executions, some of which can be attributed to the many years they spent in severe isolation on death row. Continued difficulties obtaining lethal injection drugs led some states to explore new, untested methods of execution or revive previously abandoned methods. Other states enacted or continued pauses on executions while the state’s method of execution was studied.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Public Opinion
Document(s)
Arbitrary and Capricious: Examining Racial Disparities in Harris County’s Pursuit of Death Sentences
By Texas Defender Service, on 24 April 2024
2024
NGO report
United States
More details See the document
Published on February 2024.
Texas has executed more people than any other state. However, out of the 254 counties in Texas, 136 have never sent an individual to death row. Harris County—Texas’s largest county and home to the city of Houston—stands out as the “death penalty capital of the world.” Harris County has executed more people than any state in the United States except Texas3 and is responsible for a quarter of the 1,124 people who have been sent to Texas’s death row since 1973.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
Document(s)
The Death Penalty in Bahrain: A system built on torture
on 14 January 2022
2022
NGO report
Bahrain
arfrMore details See the document
Salam for Democracy and Human Rights (Salam DHR)’s report was published on October 10, 2021, to mark the 19th World Day Against the Death Penalty. The Death Penalty in Bahrain: A system built on torture, provides accessible and abridged information regarding the development of the death penalty in Bahrain.
This report examines how executions have expanded in both their criteria and implementation since the Arab Spring in 2011 and how this practice contradicts the Government of Bahrain’s (GoB) promises of reform made following the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry (BICI) that same year. Instead, the Bahraini State continues to rely on confessions coerced under torture and threats as a method of permanently silencing poliIcal prisoners. The nation’s internal mechanisms of accountability have repeatedly proven themselves to be ineffective in remedying this situation and are possibly complicit. Considering these findings, and in support those who have been victimized, Salam DHR officially recommends that the GoB abolishes the death penalty, among other reforms.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Bahrain
- Available languages عقوبة الإعدام في البحرين : نظام مبني على التعذيبLa Peine de Mort à Bahreïn: Un Système Construit sur la Torture
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
Document(s)
Mobilization Kit World Day 2023
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 12 June 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 864 Ko ]
For the 21th 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 Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages Kit de mobilisation Journée mondiale 2023
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)
Expanded Ban on Death Penalty for Intellectually Disabled People in California
By Louis Linel, on 1 September 2020
The California State Legislature extended the ban on capital punishment for intellectually disabled people
2020
Intellectual Disability
United States
Article(s)
Japan’s death penalty under scrutiny
By The Advocates for Human Rights, on 5 November 2012
After a high-level conference on the abolition of the death penalty in Tokyo on October 29th, the United Nations’ Human Rights Council examined Japan’s record on October 31st as part of the Universal Periodic Review, a worldwide mechanism to monitor the enforcement of human rights. Major Japanese infringements concern the use of the death penalty.
2012
Clemency
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Intellectual Disability
Japan
Legal Representation
Mental Illness
Article(s)
Adoption of Bill Allowing the Imposition of the Death Penalty for a New Crime.
By Grace Keane O'Connor , on 30 April 2021
Philippine House Bill No. 7814 provides the death penalty for a new crime under the 2002 Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.
2021
Drug Offenses
Philippines
Article(s)
East African Seminar on Best Practices in Kenya: A Key Gathering for the Abolitionist Movement on the Continent
By Wendy Adouki, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 15 August 2023
A privileged moment to exchange on the different abolitionist dynamics in Africa As part of the Africabolition project, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (World Coalition) and FIACAT (the International Federation of ACATS) organized a seminar for English-speaking African members from 19-26 June, 2023 in Nairobi, Kenya.
2023
Kenya
Trend Towards Abolition
Member(s)
Act for Human Rights (ALEF)
on 30 April 2020
Act for Human Rights previously know as “Association libanaise pour l’éducation et la formation” core mandate is Monitoring and Advocacy. Its main concern are Human Rights issues, thus the organization has been advocating against death penalty. Currently our project activities are the following: Death Penalty Abolition Activities in Lebanon- ALEF – act for human rights […]
2020
Lebanon
Article(s)
Calling on Singapore to respect international safeguards and halt executions
on 3 May 2024
We are greatly concerned by the news that the Government of Singapore has issued at least five execution notices since 12 April 2024, all cases in relation to drug offending. Transformative Justice Collective, a member of the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, reports that in four of these five cases, the execution was stayed at the […]
2024
Drug Offenses
Fair Trial
Legal Representation
Singapore
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)
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)
UN High Level Panel on the death penalty and limitation to the most serious crimes
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 14 March 2023
On February 28 2023, the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council held its biennial high-level panel on the issue of the death penalty.
2023
Public Opinion
Article(s)
Abolition of the death penalty at the United Nations Human Rights Council 49th session
By Aurelie Placais, staff, on 3 May 2022
The 49th session of the UN Human Rights Council took place from 28 February to 1 April 2022. If you missed it, here’s what happened in relation to the abolition of the death penalty!
2022
Article(s)
Joint Open Letter to the Minister of Justice of Malawi on the abolition of the death penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 26 July 2024
Dear Minister of Justice, Honorable Titus Mvalo Ahead of this joint letter, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty would like to express its deepest condolences to the Government and people of Malawi for the passing of Vice President Mr. Saulos Chilima on 11 June 2024.
2024
Malawi
Article(s)
DPIC’s Report on the 2020 Death Penalty Usage in the US
By Louis Linel, on 6 January 2021
TheDeath Penalty Information Center’s 2020 annual report highlights the continuing trend toward abolition in the US and the resumption of federal executions in a challenging COVID-19 context.
2021
United States
Article(s)
Abolition of the death penalty at the United Nations Human Rights Council 53rd session
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 18 September 2023
The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 53rd Regular Session from June 19 to July 14, 2023. If you missed it, here is what happened regarding the abolition of the death penalty!
2023
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Why is the Death Penalty not the answer to Rape?
By Morine Chauvris, on 8 July 2024
Every October 10th, the World Coalition against the death penalty and its members celebrates the World Day against the Death penalty. In 2024 and 2025, the abolitionist movement will focus on challenging the widespread misconception that the death penalty enhances safety for individuals and communities.
2024
Women
Article(s)
Advocacy Seminar Held in Berlin for French-Speaking Sub-Saharan Africa Members
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 26 January 2023
In the margins of the 8th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, member organizations of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (World Coalition) and FIACAT’s African ACATs (Féderation international des Action des Chrétiens pour l’abolition de la torture) met in Berlin, Germany for an advocacy seminar.
2023
Benin
Burkina Faso
Cameroon
Central African Republic
Chad
Congo
Côte d'Ivoire
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Guinea
Madagascar
Mali
Niger
Senegal
Togo
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
Article(s)
Saudi Arabian Mass execution of 81 men
By Anissa Aguedal, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 4 April 2022
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 […]
2022
Moratorium
Public Opinion
Saudi Arabia
Article(s)
Abolitionist advocacy at the 88th CEDAW Session
on 7 June 2024
The 88th session of the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 13 to 31, 2024.
2024
Brazil
Estonia
Gender
Kuwait
Malaysia
Montenegro
Republic of Korea
Rwanda
Singapore
Article(s)
Calling Upon the Council of Paris to Overhaul Bahrain-Owned Paris FC’s Subsidy
By Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, on 5 February 2021
This Tuesday, on February 2, 2021, the Council of Paris will announce its position on the renewal of the yearly €500,000 subvention allocated to the Paris FC.
2021
Bahrain
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Moratorium
Article(s)
Flurry of educational events on World Day Against the Death Penalty
on 6 November 2009
An abolitionist wave of marches, cultural happenings, petition signings and educational events swept across the world for the 7th World Day on October 10.
2009
Australia
Clemency
Democratic Republic of the Congo
India
Indonesia
Innocence
Public Opinion
Taiwan
United States
Article(s)
Death penalty at the heart of human rights review
By Thomas Hubert, on 5 February 2013
The Taiwanese authorities have been conducting a voluntary assessment of the human rights situation in the country, culminating in the visit of a panel of experts in late February. The World Coalition is taking part in the process.
2013
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Moratorium
Taiwan
Taiwan
Article(s)
Day of the Endangered Lawyer: spotlight on China
By Emmanuel Trépied, on 14 February 2017
24 January 2017 was the Day of the Endangered Lawyer. This international initiative was dedicated to the harassment undergone by Chinese lawyers.
2017
China
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Legal Representation
Member(s)
Hope and Justice
on 30 April 2020
Hope and Justice is a small association founded after a plea for help from two prisoners sentenced to death, Justin Fuller and Carl Brooks. The initial aim was to save their lives by raising awareness among the greatest number of people possible of their cases and a fund for their defence. Justin Fuller was executed […]
2020
Belgium
Article(s)
Abolitionists support death row survivors
By Thalia Gerzso, on 14 November 2017
On October 26, abolitionists all around the world celebrated the release of Cheng Hsing-Tse, originally sentenced to death in 2006. This successful outcome highlights the work of numerous organizationss which assist death row survivors.
2017
Innocence
Murder Victims' Families
Article(s)
No mention of death row prisoners in Mandela rules
By Nordine Drici (Planète Réfugiés) & Sandrine Ageorges-Skinner (ECPM), on 30 November 2018
Commemorating the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 2018 is an opportunity to question the effectiveness of civil and political rights, but also economic, social and cultural rights, in the context of an increasingly globalized world that ostracizes, excludes, sentences to death and continues to execute.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Advisory on the Increased Vulnerabilty of Women Migrant Workers on Death Row
By Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines, on 3 December 2021
2021
Government body report
Drug Offenses
Legal Representation
Philippines
Women
frMore details Download [ pdf - 1457 Ko ]
The Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines issues this advisory to bring the Philippines’ attention to the heightened vulnerabilities of women Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs).
- Document type Government body report
- Countries list Philippines
- Themes list Drug Offenses / Legal Representation / Women
- Available languages Avis sur la vulnérabilité accrue des travailleuses migrantes dans le couloir de la mort
Document(s)
DPIC Special Report: The Innocence Epidemic
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 20 July 2022
2022
NGO report
Innocence
United States
More details See the document
A Death Penalty Information Center Analysis of 185 Death-Row Exonerations Shows Most Wrongful Convictions Are Not Merely Accidental.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Innocence
Document(s)
TESTIMONIES- 21 st World Day Against the Death Penalty
on 10 July 2023
2023
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 759 Ko ]
This document has been compiled by the Secretariat of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty with substantial aid from member organizations, including Abdorrahman Boroumand Center, Amnesty International, Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, Free Mumia ! French Support Group (Collectif français “Libérons Mumia !”), German Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Justice Project Pakistan, […]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages TEMOIGNAGES - 21ème Journée mondiale contre la peine de mort
Article(s)
Increase in the number of executions, but clear progress toward abolition in 2022
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 18 September 2023
On 16 May, Amnesty International published their annual report on the global use of the death penalty, which shows the overall number and trends in sentencing and executions in 2022.
2023
Trend Towards Abolition
Article(s)
Pakistan’s Supreme Court Repeals Death Penalty for people with intellectual disability
By Louis Linel, on 10 February 2021
By commuting two death sentences, the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that capital punishment cannot be carried out to people with serious mental health issues.
2021
Intellectual Disability
Pakistan
Document(s)
Death Penalty For Drug Offences: Global Overview 2021
on 21 March 2022
2022
NGO report
Drug Offenses
More details See the document
Harm Reduction International has monitored the use of the death penalty for drug offences worldwide since our first ground-breaking publication on this issue in 2007. This report, our eleventh on the subject, continues our work of providing regular updates on legislative, policy and practical developments related to the use of capital punishment for drug offences, a practice which is a clear violation of international law.
The Death Penalty for Drug Offences: Global Overview 2021 found that: 1) 35 countries still retain the death penalty for drug offences 2) At least 131 people were executed for drug offences in 2021 – a 336% increase from 2020. However, due to a severe lack of transparency, if not outright censorship, this is only a partial picture. This figure likely represents only a fraction of all drug-related executions carried out globally.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Document(s)
MOBILIZATION KIT World Day Against the Death Penalty 2024 – 2025 Security and the death penalty
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 12 June 2024
2024
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 2534 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages KIT DE MOBILISATION Journée mondiale contre la peine de mort 2024 - 2025 Sécurité et peine de mort
Document(s)
Report of the Secretary General: Question of the death penalty 2021 (A/HRC/48/29)
By Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), on 15 September 2021
2021
United Nations report
Public Opinion
More details See the document
The present report is submitted pursuant to decision 18/117 and resolution 42/24 of the Human Rights Council. The report focuses on consequences arising from the lack of transparency in the application and imposition of the death penalty on the enjoyment of human rights.
- Document type United Nations report
- Themes list Public Opinion
Article(s)
Singapore must stop targeting HR defenders and media
By Aliran et al (Malaysiakini), on 20 February 2020
We, the 37 undersigned groups and organisations, and three individuals, are appalled by Singapore’s denial and response to the highlighting of alleged “barbaric” unlawful practices in execution method that was highlighted vide a Jan 16 media statement issued by Lawyers for Liberty (LFL).get to many more people when media reports on our statements.
2020
Singapore
Article(s)
A Training on Advocacy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Sub-Saharan Africa
By Abdoul Razak Ahmadou Youssoufou, on 29 July 2019
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in partnership with FIACAT, and their local members ACAT Cameroon and Droits et Paix (Rights and Peace), organized a continental training course in July on advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty in sub-Saharan Africa in Douala, Cameroon. This training brought together abolitionists and experts from 23 African countries.
2019
Cameroon
Document(s)
A/HRC/54/53: Human rights challenges in addressing and countering all aspects of the world drug problem – Report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
By United Nations , on 15 August 2023
2023
Academic report
United Nations report
Drug Offenses
aresfrruzh-hantMore details See the document
The present report outlines human rights challenges in addressing and countering key
aspects of the world drug problem. It also offers an overview of recent positive developments
to shift towards more human rights-centred drug policies, and provides recommendations on
the way forward in view of the upcoming midterm review of the 2019 Ministerial Declaration
and to contribute to the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
- Document type Academic report / United Nations report
- Themes list Drug Offenses
- Available languages التحديات الناشئئئنة لت التصئئئد لمخئئئ لة المخدرات العالمية بجميع جوان ا ومواج ت ا في التمتع بحقوق اإلنسان تقرير مفوضية األمم المتحدة السامية لحقوق اإلنسان*A/HRC/54/53: Desafíos en materia de derechos humanos a la hora de abordar y contrarrestar todos los aspectos del problema mundial de las drogas - Informe de la Oficina del Alto Comisionado de las Naciones Unidas para los Derechos HumanosA/HRC/54/53 : Enjeux en matière de droits de l’homme de la mobilisation et de la lutte contre le problème mondial de la drogue sous tous ses aspects - Rapport du Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux droits de l’hommeПроблемы в области прав человека при решении мировой проблемы наркотиков во всех ее аспектах и борьбе с нею Доклад Управления Верховного комиссара Организации Объединенных Наций по правам человекаA/HRC/54/53:全方位处理和应对世界毒品问题方面的人权挑战 - 联合国人权事务高级专员办事处的报告
Article(s)
Statement on executions in the USA
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 21 June 2019
As the worldwide trend towards abolition of the death penalty grows, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty notes with concerns that the USA has reached a total of 1500 executions since 1977.
2019
United States
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)
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)
A Moratorium acts as a “truce” for the death penalty
on 23 August 2012
Hands Off Cain published its annual report in August. President of Sierra Leone Ernest Bai Koroma wrote the introduction and the book has been dedicated to Rwanda.
2012
Benin
Burundi
Ethiopia
Ghana
Guinea
Latvia
Maldives
Mauritania
Mongolia
Moratorium
Morocco
Myanmar
Nigeria
Rwanda
Sierra Leone
South Africa
Suriname
Uganda
United States
Zambia
Article(s)
Strengthening the Abolitionist Movement: Launch of the Global Consortium for Death Penalty Abolition
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 12 July 2024
Despite a growing number of countries worldwide joining the abolitionist movement every year, bringing the prospect of universal abolition closer to reality, the death penalty remains a significant human rights concern.
2024
Trend Towards Abolition
Making gender discrimination in capital punishment visible
on 6 March 2023
Understanding the link between gender discrimination and the death penalty – Women and the death penalty – Gender and sexual minorities and the death penalty Gender and the Death Penalty at the World Coalition – Strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations – Strengthen links with women’s, gender and sexual minority rights movements and organizations […]
2023
Gender
Women
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)
A decrease in the number of countries with the death penalty worldwide, despite an increase in executions
By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 20 June 2024
On 29 May 2024, Amnesty International published its annual report on the state of the death penalty worldwide. Amnesty International’s monitoring shows that in 2023 the lowest number of countries on record carried out the highest number of known executions in close to a decade.
2024
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)
Statement on the Adoption of the 8th UN General Assembly Resolution for a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 17 December 2020
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty warmly congratulates the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the adoption of Resolution A/RES/75/183 for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, which was adopted by a great majority of 123 UN Member States on 16 December 2020.
2020
Moratorium
Article(s)
Highest execution numbers in Iran in 10 years
By Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, on 13 March 2012
Iran Human Rights has published its annual report on the death penalty in Iran in 2011. IHR’s international spokesperson Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam says the Iranian authorities are keeping the number of executions high because they use the death penalty as a political tool.
2012
Drug Offenses
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Juveniles
Women
Article(s)
How the Death Penalty is Politicized: A Reflection on the 8th World Congress Against the Death Penalty
By Dunia Schaffa, on 27 January 2023
During the 8th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, in Berlin Germany, the phrase “the death penalty is being used as a political tool” was used frequently – in panels, in round tables, in speeches, even amongst the participants getting a coffee in between Congress events.
2023
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
United States
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)
64th ACHPR Session: Concluding in Egypt, Where Sentences & Executions are on the Rise
By Bronwyn Dudley, on 14 May 2019
The 64th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) is concluding in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. The ACHPR, the African Union organ steadfast in promoting and protecting human rights on the African continent, held the session from 24 April – 14 May 2019. Despite holding official human right’s discussions in a country where sentencing and executions are on the rise, the abolitionist voice was still heard.
2019
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)
“It’s in Africa that we find the strongest dynamics towards abolition”
By Clémentine Etienne, on 24 April 2018
The third regional Congress against the death penalty was held in Côte d’Ivoire, in Abidjan, in 2018 from April 9 to 10th. This is a natural choice when one can know that Africa is named “next abolitionist continent” and that civil society recognized it as such.
2018
Article(s)
Chinese lawyers hailed as “heroes for justice”
By Aurélie Plaçais, on 22 June 2013
The role of lawyers in the fight against the death penalty has been discussed from different angles throughout the 5th World Congress, but the testimony of Chinese lawyers caught most people’s attention.
2013
China
Fair Trial
Legal Representation
Article(s)
7th Congress – The new challenges of the abolitionist movement
By Louis Linel, on 5 March 2019
The actors involved in the universal abolition of the death penalty outlined the new challenges ahead in the fight for the right to life.
2019
Public Opinion
Article(s)
New conservative voices crucial in New Hampshire repeal campaign
By Thomas Hubert, on 26 February 2014
After a House committee passed a bill abolishing capital punishment on 11 February, State representative Renny Cushing explains the next steps as the World Coalition’s Steering Committee prepares to meet in New Hampshire in April.
2014
United States
Article(s)
Women sentenced to death: An invisible reality
By Advocates for Human Rights, International Federation of ACAT (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture), International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA), non-governmental organizations in special consultative status, on 4 August 2021
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and supporting member organizations welcome the annual full-day meeting to discuss the human rights of women under resolution 6/30.
2021
Drug Offenses
Fair Trial
Women
Article(s)
Justice Denied: A Global Study of Wrongful Death Row Convictions
By Death Penalty Worldwide, on 26 March 2018
The report is a first-of-its-kind comparative study of wrongful convictions. The report illuminates the similarities in wrongful conviction in six countries: Cameroon, Indonesia, Jordan, Malawi, Nigeria, and Pakistan.
2018
Cameroon
Indonesia
Innocence
Jordan
Malawi
Nigeria
Pakistan
Article(s)
NGO Forum & The ACHPR: A broad overview of African prisons amidst tensions
By Jessica Corredor, on 16 November 2018
The NGO Forum, preceding the ACHPR session, was held from 20 to 23 October 2018, with “The Fight against Corruption” as its main topic.
2018
Death Row Conditions
Legal Representation
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)
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
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
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
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)
Right Here, Right Now Life Stories from America’s Death Row
By Lynden Harris, on 10 August 2021
2021
Book
Death Row Conditions
United States
More details See the document
Upon receiving his execution date, one of the thousands of men living on death row in the United States had an epiphany: “All there ever is, is this moment. You, me, all of us, right here, right now, this minute, that’s love.”
Right Here, Right Now collects the powerful, first-person stories of dozens of men on death rows across the country. From childhood experiences living with poverty, hunger, and violence to mental illness and police misconduct to coming to terms with their executions, these men outline their struggle to maintain their connection to society and sustain the humanity that incarceration and its daily insults attempt to extinguish.
By offering their hopes, dreams, aspirations, fears, failures, and wounds, the men challenge us to reconsider whether our current justice system offers actual justice or simply perpetuates the social injustices that obscure our shared humanity.
- Document type Book
- Countries list United States
- Themes list Death Row Conditions
Document(s)
Testimonies tool – World Day 2022
By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 28 June 2022
2022
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 764 Ko ]
The World Coalition and its members have collected testimonies of victims of torture in the death penalty. Confessions, death row phenomenon, moments before the execution, psychological torture of those not sentenced to death, methods of execution. Read the stories of these victims.
We thank all those who agreed to share their testimonies and their stories.
- Document type World Coalition
- Available languages Outil témoignages - Journée mondiale 2022
Article(s)
World Coalition members share knowledge on UN advocacy
By Asil Abuassba (The Advocates for Human Rights), on 19 February 2015
Asil Abuassba, a Palestinian intern with World Coalition member organisation The Advocates for Human Rights, attended a training session to help global activists submit reports on the death penalty situation in their countries to UN bodies.
2015
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
Fair Trial
Innocence
Intellectual Disability
Juveniles
Mental Illness
Document(s)
Trapped Inside: Mental Illness & Incarceration
on 25 March 2022
2022
NGO report
Mental Illness
Pakistan
More details See the document
Pakistan’s criminal justice system fails to provide meaningful protection to persons suffering from mental illness at all stages of arrest, trial, sentencing and detention. Under Pakistani law, a person of unsound mind is unable to form criminal intent and therefore is not subject to punishment. Despite this, a disproportionate number of mentally ill prisoners are currently in Pakistan’s jails and on death row.
In light of the above, JPP, in collaboration with Monash University Australia, is launching a report titled “Trapped Inside: Mental Illness & Incarceration”, a comprehensive review of Pakistani law and practice with regards to mentally ill prisoners and defendants. This report seeks to help relevant stakeholders to better understand and respond appropriately to the mental health needs of individuals across the criminal justice system. It focuses on the steps stakeholders can take to promote and protect mental health and well-being of individuals at each stage. The report also explores last year’s landmark ‘Safia Bano’ judgement by Pakistan’s Supreme Court, which commuted the death sentences of two mentally ill death row prisoners, banned the execution of prisoners with psycho-social disabilities and set key safeguards for the same.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Pakistan
- Themes list Mental Illness
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)
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)
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)
“Look at us with a merciful eye”
By Human Rights Watch, on 5 March 2013
Human Rights Watch is launching a 30-page report on juvenile offenders awaiting execution on Yemen’s death row.
2013
Juveniles
Yemen
Yemen
Article(s)
Malawi – five years after abolishing the mandatory death penalty
By Emile Carreau, on 19 September 2012
In 2007 abolitionists celebrated when the High Court of Malawi abolished the mandatory death penalty. In what become known as the Kafanteyeni ruling the mandatory death penalty was deemed by the bench as unconstitutional as it amounts to an arbitrary deprivation of life, denies an accused the right to a fair trial and the right to be free from inhuman and degrading treatment.
2012
Malawi
Document(s)
Co-Sponsorship, Note Verbale, and Association Behaviour at the Unga: An Analysis of the Death Penalty Moratorium Resolutions
By Daniel Pascoe & Sangmin Bae, on 22 April 2021
2021
Academic report
Moratorium
More details See the document
Since December 2007, seven resolutions in favour of a universal moratorium on death penalty executions have been adopted by the UN General Assembly. In an earlier paper (Pascoe and Bae 2020) we examined UN member states’ voting patterns over these seven resolutions, asking why some countries vote in a manner seemingly contradictory to their domestic death penalty practices. With a slightly different focus, we now further explore idiosyncratic state behaviour, this time through an analysis of co-sponsorship and the note verbale of dissociation. Our assumption is that states which plan to vote ‘yes’ in the plenary will also co-sponsor the resolution beforehand. We also presume that states which vote ‘no’ in the plenary will sign the note verbale invariably circulated several months later, as a further means of condemnation.
However, when it comes to the moratorium resolutions, not all member states fit into either of these binary categories. Many countries situate themselves in between the two groups of ‘genuine’ supporters and opponents. These countries in the middle evince inconsistency between their plenary votes and what we term their ‘association behaviour’ before or after the plenary, consisting of co-sponsorship and adherence to the note verbale. This paper analyses these groups of countries to determine the underlying causes for their ambivalent, or even contradictory, positions concerning the moratorium resolutions. The findings of this research stand to enrich not only the academic literature on international organizations, but also to inform the campaigning efforts of abolitionist UN member states and non-governmental organizations.
- Document type Academic report
- Themes list Moratorium
Article(s)
Saudi Arabia: why are foreigners losing their heads?
on 26 March 2008
Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan servant sentenced to death by a Saudi court, is facing decapitation. ACAT-France and ECPM have joined forces to defend poor immigrants at risk of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia.
2008
Fair Trial
Juveniles
Legal Representation
Saudi Arabia
Women
Article(s)
Moroccan parliamentary network a new step towards abolition
By Delphine Judith, on 15 March 2013
Around 180 MPs from all political hues signed the founding charter of their network against the death penalty, which promises sustained legislative action in favour of abolition.
2013
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Moratorium
Morocco
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)
Fewest death sentences in 40 years in the US
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 12 January 2015
The number of executions in the United States was at its lowest in 20 years and seven death row prisoners were exonerated in 2014.
2015
Intellectual Disability
Mental Illness
United States
Article(s)
Indian ruling highlights importance of next World Day
By Emile Carreau, on 3 February 2014
On 21 January, India’s Supreme Court formally banned the execution of mentally ill prisoners and in doing so highlighted why this year’s World Day against the Death Penalty, which is dedicated to issues of mental health, is so important.
2014
India
Intellectual Disability
Mental Illness
Article(s)
TAEDP Withdraws from Ministry of Justice’s Task Force to Research the Gradual Abolition of the Death Penalty
By TAEDP, on 30 April 2020
TAEDP Press Release, April 2, 2020The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty made this decision after the Ministry of Justice, in total disregard for the rule of law, arbitrarily and illegally executed a death row inmate on April 1, 2020.
2020
Taiwan
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)
Progress and impediments on path to abolition in U.S.
By Russ Feingold & Christopher Wright Durocher, on 3 April 2024
When President Biden won the 2020 election, he became the first successful U.S. presidential candidate to publicly oppose the death penalty.
2024
United States
Article(s)
Executions and Death Sentences Near Record Lows in 2021 in the USA
By Death Penalty Information Center, on 13 January 2022
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.
2022
Public Opinion
United States
Article(s)
Groundbreaking Survey Reveals Iranians’ Attitudes Towards the Death Penalty
By GAMAAN Institute / World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 23 October 2020
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.
2020
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Public Opinion
Article(s)
Death Sentences and Executions in 2017
By Amnesty International, on 12 April 2018
Amnesty International published its international global review of the death penalty on Tuesday, 12th April 2018.At least 993 executions in 23 countries in 2017 were recorded, down by 4% from 2016 (1,032 executions) and 39% from 2015 (when the organization reported 1,634 executions, the highest number since 1989). China remained the world’s top executioner, but excluding China, 84% of all reported executions took place in just four countries – Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.
2018
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)
Teng Biao: Olympics an opportunity to put pressure on the Chinese authorities”
on 13 February 2008
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.
2008
China
Innocence
Public Opinion
Article(s)
Sierra Leone abolishes the Death Penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty , on 2 August 2021
On Friday 23rd July 2021, Sierra Leone’s Parliament unanimously abolished the death penalty by passing the Abolition of the Death Penalty Act.
2021
Public Opinion
Sierra Leone
Article(s)
75th Ordinary Session of the African Commission of Human and Peoples’ Rights
By Wendy Adouki, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 15 August 2023
From 3rd to 23rd May 2023, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) held its 75th Ordinary Session for the first time in a hybrid format with participants both attending online and in person in Banjul, the Gambia, seat of the ACHPR.
2023
Trend Towards Abolition