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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. 

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.

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.

“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.

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.

The California State Legislature extended the ban on capital punishment for intellectually disabled people

Philippine House Bill No. 7814 provides the death penalty for a new crime under the 2002 Comprehensive Dangerous Drugs Act.

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.

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 […]

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.

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.

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

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!

 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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 […]

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

24 January 2017 was the Day of the Endangered Lawyer. This international initiative was dedicated to the harassment undergone by Chinese lawyers.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 […]

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 […]

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

What is it? How is it implemented? You will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the Second Optional Protocol below.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

The NGO Forum, preceding the ACHPR session, was held from 20 to 23 October 2018, with “The Fight against Corruption” as its main topic.

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.

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.

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.

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 […]

Human Rights Watch is launching a 30-page report on juvenile offenders awaiting execution on Yemen’s death row.

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.

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.

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.

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”.

The number of executions in the United States was at its lowest in 20 years and seven death row prisoners were exonerated in 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.

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.

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 […]

When President Biden won the 2020 election, he became the first successful U.S. presidential candidate to publicly oppose the death penalty.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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

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.