INDEX

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (World Coalition) has been informed that Martin Mavenjina was unjustifiably forced to leave Kenya on 5 July 2025. Mr. Mavenjina had just been elected as a Vice-President of the World Coalition on 1 July, with a two-year mandate. 

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (WCADP), in partnership with members and allies who have worked on preventing the return of the death penalty, has published a new how-to guide for civil society organizations (CSOs) on how to react in the face of a risk of a return to the death penalty.

From April 27 to 30, 2025, the Harm Reduction International (HRI) conference in Bogotá brought together several hundred activists, researchers and human rights defenders committed to drug policies based on health, rights and justice.

It is with great sadness that the Gender Working Group of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty pays tribute to Sonia “Sunny” Jacobs, a tireless advocate and an inspiration to us all.

The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 58th Regular Session from February 24 to April 4, 2025. If you missed it, here is what happened regarding the abolition of the death penalty!

The 49th session of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) session took place from the 28th of April to the 9th of May 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. It showcased the increasing international push for death penalty reform, with a significant number of recommendations for Grenada, Guyana, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, Lesotho.

On 8 April 2025, Amnesty International published its annual report on the state of the death penalty worldwide. Amnesty International’s monitoring shows that with continued advocacy, it is just a matter of time before the death penalty will be fully abolished globally.

The 48th session of the United Nations’ Universal Periodic Review (UPR) took place from the 20th to the 31st of January 2025 in Geneva, Switzerland. It showcased the increasing international focus on the death penalty, with a significant number of recommendations for The Gambia, Fiji, Iran, Iraq, and Egypt.

On February 25, 2025, the biennial high-level panel on the death penalty was held at the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, under the theme “Contribution of the Judiciary to the Advancement of Human Rights and the Question of the Death Penalty.” 

A World Coalition Against the Death Penalty (World Coalition) delegation participated in the first Women in Corrections Conference (WICC), held in Bangkok, Thailand, in February 2025.