Your search “Keep the Death Penalty Abolished fin the Philippfines /page/26 individuals that Ohio intends to execute each suffer from some combination of severe mental illness, intellectual disability, serious childhood trauma from physical and sexual abuse, or were young adults with impaired judgment when they committed their crimes. ”
Article(s)
Despite recent setbacks, the trend towards the universal abolition towards the death penalty remains
By Elise Guillot, on 8 February 2017
The UK-All Party Parliamentary Group on the Abolition of the Death Penalty organised a meeting in London, on 25 January 2017. Gathering parliamentarians, representatives of the British institutions as well as members of the civil society, the meeting aimed at presenting the worldwide death penalty situation and at focusing on the countries at risk of reintroducing the death penalty.
2017
Article(s)
Cities for Life 2016: Let’s stay vigilant
By Emmanuel Trépied, on 19 December 2016
On 30 November, the International Day of “Cities for Life” was celebrated around the world. An opportunity to raise awareness among the civil society on the universal abolition.
2016
Public Opinion
Article(s)
A major abolitionist gathering for the 60th ordinary session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights in Niger
By Jessica Corredor, on 19 May 2017
The work of the 60th ordinary sessions of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) took place in Niger between the 8th and the 22th of May. Invited by SYNAFEN, one of its members, the World Coalition took this opportunity to gather in the margins of the ACHPR session.
2017
Niger
Document(s)
World Coalition Strategic Plan 2023-2027
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 22 August 2023
2023
World Coalition
Trend Towards Abolition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 455 Ko ]
- Document type World Coalition
- Themes list Trend Towards Abolition
- Available languages Plan Stratégique 2023-2027 de la Coalition Mondiale
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 […]
2022
Moratorium
Myanmar
Article(s)
Joint statement of the death penalty in Japan
By Center for Prisoners' Rights and Japan Innocence & Death Penalty Information Center, on 30 March 2018
Joint Statement signed by Center for Prisoners’ Rights and Japan Innocence & Death Penalty Information Center to to call Japanese government for a sincere dialogue while condemning the government for refusing a dialogue with international communityand not accepting capital punishment as a human rights issue.
2018
Japan
Article(s)
Abolitionists fight against the abusive use of the death penalty
By Thalia Gerzso, on 28 November 2017
In October 2017, Pakistan has agreed to initiate efforts to narrow down the scope of the death penalty. This first step is the result of a strong mobilization from Pakistani and international organizations, in particular during World Day.
2017
Pakistan
Public Opinion
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)
Mexican executed in Texas
on 5 August 2008
Jose Medellin, a Mexican sentenced to death in Texas, was executed on August 5 despite serious flaws in his trial. The Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty denounces an “irrevocable breach of international law”.
2008
Legal Representation
Mexico
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)
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)
Africa raises its voice against the death penalty
By Tiziana Trotta, on 21 October 2016
Many African organizations and institutions raised their voices on the occasion of the 14th World Day against the Death Penalty, whose last edition, celebrated on October 10, was dedicated to the use of death penalty for terrorism-related crimes.
2016
Terrorism
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)
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
Article(s)
Justice ministers meet on the eve of Cities Against the Death Penalty
By Elizabeth Zitrin (World Coalition vice-president), in Rome, on 1 December 2013
More than 20 ministers of justice met in Rome for the annual conference on the abolition of the death penalty organised by the Community of Sant’Egidio and heard harrowing testimonies from courageous activists.
2013
Afghanistan
Belarus
Costa Rica
El Salvador
Italy
Philippines
Senegal
Switzerland
United States
Document(s)
INSECURITY REVEALED: Voices Against the Death Penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 6 August 2024
2024
Campaigning
World Coalition
frMore details Download [ pdf - 1313 Ko ]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages L'INSÉCURITÉ RÉVÉLÉE : Voix contre la peine de mort
Article(s)
The Supreme Court of Kenya declares the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional
By Thalia Gerzso, on 23 January 2018
On December 14, 2017, the Supreme Court of Kenya declared the mandatory death penalty unconstitutional. This landmark decision puts an end to several years of uncertainties and constitutes an additional step towards the abolition of the death penalty in the country.
2018
Kenya
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)
Events, strong words and hard facts to fight death penalty in the Caribbean
By Thomas Hubert, on 11 October 2013
As World Day Against the Death Penalty events unfolded on an unprecedented scale across the region, local activists and international organisations took a firm stance against capital punishment across the Caribbean.
2013
Bahamas
Barbados
Belize
Guatemala
Jamaica
Public Opinion
Puerto Rico
Saint Kitts and Nevis
Trinidad and Tobago
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)
The 18th World Day Against the Death Penalty Highlights the Life-Saving Importance of Effective Legal Representation in Capital Cases
By Gia Tongson, on 18 November 2020
The 18th World Day Against the Death Penalty explored the theme “Access to Counsel: A Matter of Life or Death” in light of the continued execution of individuals who struggle to have adequate support from their lawyers, who consequently also face their own challenges in the judicial system. Having access to qualified and effective representation […]
2020
Australia
Belgium
Canada
Congo
Egypt
Fair Trial
France
Kazakhstan
Philippines
Portugal
Uganda
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
Document(s)
Investigating Attitudes to the Death Penalty in Indonesia Part One – Opinion Formers: An Appetite for Change
By Carolyn Hoyle - The Death Penalty Project, in partnership with LBH Masyarakat and the University of Indonesia, on 28 June 2021
2021
NGO report
Drug Offenses
Indonesia
Public Opinion
More details See the document
In 2019-20, The Death Penalty Project, in partnership with LBH Masyarakat and the University of Indonesia, commissioned Professor Carolyn Hoyle, of The Death Penalty Research Unit at the University of Oxford to conduct research investigating attitudes towards the death penalty in Indonesia.
The findings have been presented in a two-part report; the first details the findings of a nuanced public survey and the second details the findings of interviews conducted with opinion formers.
- Document type NGO report
- Countries list Indonesia
- Themes list Drug Offenses / Public Opinion
Article(s)
High-Level Remote Panel on the Moratorium Resolution
By Louis Linel, on 6 November 2020
On 5 November, a webinar gathering high-level panelists was held by Ensemble contre la peine de mort / Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) as one of their initiatives for the moratorium campaign. Usually organized in New York, USA on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), the event had to be facilitated […]
2020
Algeria
Belgium
Democratic Republic of the Congo
France
Italy
Moratorium
Morocco
Switzerland
Document(s)
Malawi – Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women – Death Penalty – January 2022
on 31 January 2022
2022
NGO report
World Coalition
Malawi
Women
More details Download [ pdf - 311 Ko ]
Detention conditions for women in Malawi are crowded, and women in prisons are not given adequate food and nutrition. Specifically, many prisons only serve people with one meal a day, often consisting of a maize meal (nsima) and peas or beans. Overcrowded conditions are a particular concern during the COVID-19 pandemic, when risk of transmission of the disease is high. Prison conditions in Malawi amount to inhuman and degrading treatment.
Women in death penalty proceedings in Malawi lack access to qualified legal representation. Defense advocates in Malawi who are assigned to capital cases often lack relevant experience. In at least one case, a lawyer failed to raise the complete defense of self-defense in representing a woman who killed her husband as a result of a long history of domestic abuse. Had the defense been raised, it is possible that the woman would not have been sentenced to death. Moreover, women from poor and marginalized communities are disproportionately affected by the death penalty because when they are accused of crimes, they are often unable to understand the charges against them because they are illiterate and cannot read the complaint against them. They are also unable to retain private counsel.
Women who face extensive gender-based violence are disproportionately affected by the death penalty in Malawi, including those who seek to protect themselves against their abusers. Long histories of gender-based violence can result in complex trauma and can exacerbate psycho-social or intellectual disabilities, yet sentencing courts fail to take these nefarious effects into account as factors in mitigation of a death sentence.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Malawi
- Themes list Women
Article(s)
Terrorism is no excuse for unfair trials in Iraq
By Elisa Belotti, on 25 November 2015
Earlier in November, the UN Human Rights Committee released its concluding observations on Iraq’s implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The Committee and civil society’s representatives specifically dwelled on Iraq’s application of the death penalty.
2015
Fair Trial
Iraq
Iraq
Terrorism
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)
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 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)
What China’s report to the United Nations tells us about transparency and the death penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 28 June 2024
In January 2024, China underwent its fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) by the UN Human Rights Council. While in all previous reviews, the death penalty was mentioned in the Chinese state report, nothing was reported this year.
2024
China
Article(s)
E Book review: a guidebook to the death penalty in Asia
on 10 March 2009
A new, authoritative study sheds a new light on capital punishment across Asia and may help abolitionists enhance their strategies.
2009
China
Japan
Philippines
Republic of Korea
Taiwan
Viet Nam
Article(s)
Highlights: Discussion on torture and the death penalty with UN experts and exonerees
By Venus Aves, on 6 November 2023
For the 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty dedicated to the reflection on the relationship between the use of the death penalty and torture or other cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment or punishment started in 2022, the World Coalition hosted an online discussion with United Nations experts Morris Tidball Binz (UN Special Rapporteur on […]
2023
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Death Row Conditions
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)
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
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)
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)
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)
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)
Malaysian popular support for mandatory death penalty overstated
By Thomas Hubert, on 10 July 2013
A detailed opinion survey commissioned by the Death Penalty Project in Malaysia found that while most people initially respond supportively when asked about mandatory death sentences, their opinion changes when confronted with practical cases and additional information.
2013
Malaysia
Public Opinion
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)
Eager to learn more about the death penalty? Abolitionist civil society around the world answered your call!
By Elise Guillot, on 8 November 2016
10 October saw the release of several publications and tools to raise awareness on the death penalty in all regions of the world. Take a look!
2016
Terrorism
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)
Arab spring at the heart of World Coalition debates
on 26 June 2011
International abolitionists gathered in Morocco have discussed the recent wind of change in the region and the resulting hope for the abolition of the death penalty.
2011
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Iraq
Morocco
Terrorism
Tunisia
Document(s)
Kenya – Committee Against Torture – Death Penalty – March 2022
on 18 March 2022
2022
NGO report
World Coalition
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
More details Download [ pdf - 393 Ko ]
Kenya has not carried out any executions since the late 1980s. Nonetheless, Kenya continues to hand down the death penalty as a sentence in criminal cases. Accordingly, this report recommends that the Committee Against Torture recommend that Kenya formally abolish the death penalty, commute the sentences of all persons on death row, and revise laws to remove capital punishment from the list of principal sentences. Kenya should further take steps to prohibit introduction of evidence obtained through torture and ill-treatment in criminal proceedings and to ensure that all persons at risk of being sentenced to death have access to well-qualified legal counsel with adequate funding for a thorough pre-trial investigation. Kenya should ensure that no person is removed to a country where they may be at risk of being sentenced to death, and should take concrete steps to ensure that conditions of detention for persons under sentence of death comply with the Nelson Mandela Rules.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Article(s)
World Coalition AGM encourages US to join the abolitionist majority
on 22 June 2010
On June 12 and 13, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty convened in San Francisco, marking the first international abolition meeting on US soil.
2010
United States
Article(s)
Kazakhstan Penal Code reform runs counter to abolitionist trend
By Anne Souléliac (Paris Bar), on 22 July 2014
The new Kazakh Penal Code provides for an increase in the number of capital crimes, even though Kazakhstan has been moving away from the death penalty for years and has a stated policy of meeting international standards.
2014
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan
Terrorism
Article(s)
The 6th International Conference on Human Rights issues a warning on the alarming situation in Bahrain
By Emmanuel Trépied and Coalition marocaine contre la peine de mort, on 10 March 2017
The World Coalition was invited to take part in the 6th international Conference on Human Rights, on February 22nd, 2017 in Beirut. addressing the very worrying situation in Bahrain, the event resulted in a series of calls and recommendations.
2017
Bahrain
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Fair Trial
Moratorium
Terrorism
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)
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)
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)
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
Article(s)
World Day: everybody stands up against the death penalty!
on 27 September 2007
The 5th World Day Against the Death Penalty takes place on Wednesday, 10 October 2007. Organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, it is marked by thousands of citizens and hundreds of organisations across the world who together, through hundreds of local initiatives, say ‘NO’ to capital punishment.
2007
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Germany
Morocco
Peru
Portugal
Puerto Rico
United States
Yemen
Article(s)
The Inter-American system commits to see the end of the death penalty
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 13 January 2020
In November 2019, Ecuador hosted a series of high level meetings of the Organisation of American States (OAS), including the Third Forum of the Inter-American Human Rights System and the 174th Period of Sessions of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), during which abolition of the death penalty was on the agenda.
2020
Article(s)
African leaders and abolitionists hold anti-death penalty summit in Cotonou
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 7 July 2014
The signature of an African treaty on the abolition of the death penalty is a priority to firm up the trend moving away from capital punishment across the continent.
2014
Benin
Benin
Public Opinion
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
Document(s)
Maldives – Committee Against Torture (LOIPR) – Death Penalty – June 2022
By The Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN) , on 21 July 2022
2022
NGO report
World Coalition
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Maldives
More details Download [ pdf - 1443 Ko ]
This report addresses the Maldives’ compliance with its human rights obligations with respect to the death penalty. Despite its long-standing, de facto moratorium on executions, the Maldives sentenced two people to death in 2019, after sentencing no one to death in 2018.[1] At the end of 2019, there were 19 people on death row in the Maldives – three of whom had exhausted their appeals and five of whom were juveniles when the crime was committed.[2] The Maldives sentenced another individual to death in 2022, which represented the first time the country sentenced a foreign national to death.[3] The continued use of the death penalty in sentencing is particularly concerning given evidence of due process violations, including the use of torture to obtain confessions, the lack of effective and accessible complaint mechanisms for detained individuals, the lack of an independent judiciary, and the use of the death penalty as a sentence for crimes committed by juveniles.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Maldives
- Themes list Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Article(s)
California ruling paves way for abolition of one of the world’s largest death rows
By Elizabeth Zitrin, on 18 July 2014
United States Federal District Court Judge Cormac J. Carney, who was appointed by former President George W. Bush, a strong supporter of the death penalty, ruled on 16 July that California’s death penalty system violates the US Constitution.
2014
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
United States
Article(s)
A new decline in the use of the death penalty in the US in 2016
By Elise Guillot, on 17 January 2017
With 30 death sentences pronounced and 20 executions carried out, the use of the death penalty in the USA saw a new record decline in 2016, as reported in the Death Penalty Information Center’s year-end report. Nevertheless, the abolitionists are worried that 2017 may not be so successful.
2017
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Public Opinion
United States
Article(s)
Explaining the Death Penalty for Drug Offences: the Best Reports
By Elisa Bellotti, on 2 November 2015
For October 10, many NGOs have published Reports analyzing, from different perspectives, the issue of the death penalty for drug offences. Read this brief presentation of the reports to facilitate the selection of the research that will best satisfy your thirst for knowledge.
2015
Drug Offenses
Document(s)
The Death Penalty For Drug Offences: Global Overview 2023
By Harm Reduction International, on 28 March 2024
2024
NGO report
Drug Offenses
More details See the document
Published in 2023.
At the end of 2023, 34 countries retained the death for drug offences. In July 2023 Pakistan took the landmark decision to remove the death penalty from the list of punishments that can be imposed for certain violations of its Control of Narcotics Substances Act. This year also saw notable progress in Malaysia, which abolished the mandatory death penalty for all offences, including drug-related ones. This reform may impact the lives of over 700 people on death row for drug offences and bring the country one step closer to total abolition of capital punishment. In stark contrast to these positive developments is the record-high number of drug-related executions in 2023 at least 467. Of those executed, at least 59 people belonged to ethnic minority groups (in Iran and in Singapore), 13 individuals were foreign nationals, and six were women. These figures confirm that these groups are uniquely vulnerable to capital punishment as a tool of drug control. Despite not accounting for the dozens, if not hundreds, of executions believed to have taken place in China, Vietnam, and North Korea, the 467 executions that took place in 2023 represent a 44% increase from 2022.
- Document type NGO report
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Article(s)
Executions for drug crimes: a violation of international law -international organizations
By Tiziana Trotta, on 15 October 2015
International organizations joined the 13th World Day Against the Death Penalty to stand against this cruel practice. United Nations, the European Union and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights merged to claim that capital punishment is not the solution to deter drug crimes.
2015
Drug Offenses
Article(s)
Escalating concerns over the lives of minors threatened with death in Saudi Arabia
on 3 May 2024
The undersigned organizations express their grave concern for the lives of minor defendants particularly the two young men, Yousif Al-Manasif and Ali Al-Mubaiouq, who are at imminent risk of execution in Saudi Arabia following confirmed information that the Specialized Criminal Court of Appeal (SCCA) has upheld their death sentences.
2024
Juveniles
Saudi Arabia
Article(s)
Iran: 2016 a deadly year despite a slight decrease in the executions
By Iran Human Rights, on 6 April 2017
The 9th annual report by Iran Human Rights (IHR)and ECPM (Ensemble contre la peine de mort) on the death penalty in Iran shows that in 2016 at least 530 people were executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although this number is significantly lower than the annual execution numbers from the past five years, Iran remained the country with the highest number of executions per capita.
2017
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Article(s)
Statement on the occasion of the International Human Rights Day
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 10 December 2020
Humanity and the global human rights movement, including the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, are celebrating the 72nd anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10 December 1948. This day has been commemorated by the United Nations as International Human Rights Day.
2020
Moratorium
19th World Day Against the Death Penalty – Women and the death penalty, an invisible reality
on 10 June 2021
On 10 October 2021, the World Day will be dedicated to women who risk being sentenced to death, who have received a death sentence, who have been executed, and to those who have had their death sentences commuted, exonerated, or pardoned.
2021
Women
Article(s)
Children of people sentenced to death attract the UN’s attention
By Léa Macarez, on 19 September 2013
The UN Human Rights Council brought together representatives from civil society, States and the UN itself to discuss the rights of children whose parents are sentenced to death or executed.
2013
Juveniles
Article(s)
The Greater Caribbean for Life rejects the call for the resumption of the death penalty
By Leela Ramdeen, on 9 November 2017
The Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL), an independent, not-for-profit regional civil society organization working towards the abolition of the Death Penalty in the region, rejects the recommendation for the resumption of the death penalty.
2017
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)
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)
Discussing the Death Penalty for Drug Crimes at the Human Rights Council
By Elisa Bellotti, on 30 September 2015
The Advocates for Human Rights and Together against the Death Penalty (ECPM), in partnership with other members of the World Coalition, organized a Round Table on the issue of the death penalty for drug-related crimes. The event took place during the 30th Session of the UN Human Rights Council, on September 28, 2015.
2015
Drug Offenses
Document(s)
Leaflet – World Day 2024 & 2025
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 10 June 2024
2024
Campaigning
World Coalition
arfrMore details Download [ pdf - 1325 Ko ]
Every 10th October, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and abolitionist actors worldwide celebrate the World Day Against the Death Penalty. It is an occasion to highlight the progress achieved in the global campaign for the abolition of capital punishment. In 2024 and 2025, the World Day will serve as an opportunity to challenge […]
- Document type Campaigning / World Coalition
- Available languages كتيب - اليوم العالمي 2024 و 2025Brochure - Journée mondiale 2024 & 2025
Article(s)
US murder victims’ families advocate abolition in Asia
on 14 July 2010
World Coalition member organisation Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights held public events and meetings with victims and leaders during a recent tour of South Korea, Japan and Taiwan.
2010
Murder Victims' Families
Republic of Korea
Article(s)
ADPAN network reinforces its strength in Asia
By Jessica Corredor, on 22 August 2017
The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network held its third AGM in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on 20 July, followed by a national conference on the abolition of the death penalty in Malaysia and Asia-Pacific.
2017
Malaysia
Article(s)
Death Sentences in the Democratic Republic of the Congo More Numerous than Previously Thought
By Bronwyn Dudley, on 12 March 2020
ECPM and CPJ published a report in December 2019 following a fact-finding mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) that took place earlier in the year. The results of the mission were astonishing – while the number of individuals sentenced to death was previously estimated to be 300 at most, the mission uncovered that there are at least 510 waiting execution. Liévin Ngondji, co-author of the report and President of CPJ, was in Paris in February 2020 to comment. Photo on the cover of the Report : 22 Oct 2015. Prison Centrale Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo copyright Ben Houdjik/ Shutterstock
2020
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Fair Trial
Article(s)
Japan executes mentally ill people and pushes prisoners over the edge
on 11 September 2009
The Japanese government continues to execute prisoners with psychiatric illnesses and the conditions on death row provoke mental disorders among inmates, according to a new Amnesty International report.
2009
Death Row Conditions
Japan
Mental Illness
Document(s)
Uganda – Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women – Death Penalty – January 2022
on 12 January 2022
2022
NGO report
World Coalition
Uganda
Women
More details Download [ pdf - 243 Ko ]
This report addresses Uganda’s compliance with its obligations under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women with respect to the death penalty. The report examines and discusses Ugandan death penalty laws and cases where women are sentenced to death row in Uganda, primarily for murder.
This report recommends that Uganda adopt a number of key recommendations to better align its death penalty practices with Uganda’s obligations to women under the Convention. These steps, among other things, include: (1) abolishing the death penalty and in the interim, limiting the death penalty to only the most serious crimes of intentional killing of another human; (2) ensuring proper gender-sensitive training in the judicial system and protecting women in conflict with the law when gender-based violence is involved; (3) developing and implementing programs to prevent gender-based violence and discrimination; and (4) ensuring fair access to counsel to women sentenced to death or at risk of being sentenced to death.
- Document type NGO report / World Coalition
- Countries list Uganda
- Themes list Women
Article(s)
Recontextualizing the threat of death penalty for homosexuality in Uganda
By Méline Szwarcberg, on 2 May 2023
On Tuesday March 21, the Ugandan parliament passed a law that severely criminalizes people who have consensual same-sex relations. At the end of April, the law had still not been validated by the President Museveni. Among a range of harsh penalties, the law would allow the death penalty for the crime of « aggravated homosexuality […]
2023
Gender
Uganda
Document(s)
Singapore’s death penalty for drug trafficking: What the research says and doesn’t
By Academia SG - Promoting Scorlorahsip Of/For/By Singapore, on 24 January 2024
2024
Academic report
Drug Offenses
Singapore
More details See the document
Published on October 7, 2023.
Of all retentionist countries, Singapore seems to be the most vocal about the need to execute individuals as a form of criminal punishment. MAI SATO (Monash University) reviews studies conducted or commissioned by Singapore’s Ministry of Home Affairs that claim public backing for and the effectiveness of the death penalty in managing drug trafficking. Sato finds that these studies provide far weaker evidence for using the death penalty for drug trafficking than their authors and officials citing them claim.
- Document type Academic report
- Countries list Singapore
- Themes list Drug Offenses
Article(s)
Activists from Burundi, Rwanda and DR Congo join forces
on 3 December 2008
The Great Lakes Regional Coalition Against the Death Penalty held its first meeting on November 17 in Kinshasa. Its lobbying efforts have accelerated Burundi’s legislative process.
2008
Burundi
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Moratorium
Rwanda
Article(s)
Migrant workers facing capital punishment show need for alternative sentences
By Think Centre, on 26 April 2012
Four Singapore-based organisations denounce the high risk of miscarriage of justice in recent death sentences handed down on poor immigrants and calls for the abolition of the death penalty in the city-state.
2012
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
Moratorium
Singapore
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
Document(s)
Somebody’s Child: Amid the Lingering Trauma of Trump’s Executions, a New Project Brings Families to Federal Death Row
By The Intercept, on 15 February 2024
2024
Article
United States
More details See the document
Published on February 11, 2024.
In 2002, Ra’id was arrested alongside several other suspects following a botched bank robbery that left two people dead and another paralyzed. His co-defendants pointed to him as the mastermind, which Ra’id adamantly denied. “I did not take part in that atrocity,” he told the court following his trial. “I did not shoot and kill anyone.”
Newson attended his father’s sentencing hearing, along with his mother, Jeannie Gipson-Newson. A death sentence would be “devastating to my child,” she remembered testifying. But it felt futile. The jurors seemed to have made up their minds. In 2004, Ra’id was sentenced to die.
- Document type Article
- Countries list United States
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)
“Frightening” increase of executions in Iran
By World coalition against the death penalty, on 20 June 2024
Iran Human Rights (IHRNGO) reports that at least 243 people, including 10 women, have been executed in 2024, as of 15 June. In 2023, the number of people executed has increased from 582 to 834. At least 471 people were executed for drug-related offenses. This represent a 84% increase compared to 2022 (256).
2024
Drug Offenses
Iran (Islamic Republic of)
Article(s)
Thai seminars explore religious perspectives on the death penalty
on 4 August 2008
Thai human rights activists led by the Union for Civil Liberty (UCL) organised a series of seminars with religious leaders to raise their awareness and discuss their perspectives on abolition.
2008
Murder Victims' Families
Public Opinion
Thailand
Article(s)
TAIWAN: CONSTITUTIONAL COURT TO HEAR CHALLENGE TO DEATH PENALTY LAW
By World coalition against the death penalty, Amnesty International, on 23 April 2024
On 23 April 2024 the Constitutional Court of Taiwan will hear a challenge on the constitutionality of the death penalty in the country. Amnesty International Taiwan and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty are among several non-governmental organizations intervening in the case, in support of the full abolition of the death penalty.
2024
Taiwan
Article(s)
Global overview of women facing the death penalty
By Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide and World Coalition, on 10 October 2018
Launch of a groundbreaking report entitled “Judged for more than her crime: A Global Study on Women Facing the Death Penalty”
2018
Women
Article(s)
Kenya’s new taskforce to review death penalty laws
By Nicolas Chua, on 11 September 2018
In December 2017, two Kenyan men challenged the legality of capital punishment at the Supreme Court, which resulted in Chief Justice Marage declaring the « mandatory nature of the death sentence » unconstitutional. Following this groundbreaking statement, the Taskforce on the Review of the Mandatory Nature of the Death Penalty was appointed on March 15 2018.
2018
Kenya
Article(s)
Arab League Summit: the death penalty at the heart of the alternative summit organized by civil society
By Hédia Zaalouni, on 10 May 2019
On the occasion of the 30th session of the Arab League Summit, which took place in Tunis from 26 to 31 March 2019 and brought together 21 Arab delegations, a parallel counter-summit, organized by civil society, was held to address the issue of human rights in the Arab world.
2019
Tunisia
Article(s)
The United States Supreme Court’s End of Term Death Penalty Opinion is Against the US Trend Away from the Capital Punishment
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 14 July 2015
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty takes the opportunity to support the call of the United Nations Special Rapporteurs on Summary Executions and on Torture, for the establishment of a federal moratorium on the death penalty.
2015
Moratorium
United States
Article(s)
Punishing Sex Crimes: The Evolution of the Death Penalty in India
By Hédia Zaalouni, on 21 April 2020
The Death Penalty in India: Annual Statistics, an annual report published in January 2020 by Project 39A, details the application of the death penalty in India during the year 2019. It also describes developments in criminal justice and policy in the country.
2020
India
Article(s)
Welcome to the United States of torture
on 2 May 2008
After the Supreme Court re-opened the possibility of lethal injections, executions are scheduled to resume in the US on May 6, starting with William E. Lynd (photo) in Georgia. TCADP International chairperson Sandrine Ageorges denounces an “inhumane” process.
2008
Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment
United States
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)
Children and the death penalty in Sub-Saharan Africa: NGO Forum and the 65th ACHPR Session
By Connie Numbi and Bronwyn Dudley, on 9 December 2019
The NGO Forum and the subsequent 65th ACHPR Session (African Commission on Human and People’s Rights) was held in Banjul, the Gambia from 17th October to the 10 November 2019.
2019
Juveniles
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
Article(s)
Europe launches diplomatic offensive against the death penalty
on 10 October 2008
Since 2007, October 10 is also the European Day Against the Death Penalty. Numerous European politicians have chosen this day to state their opposition to capital punishment.
2008
Lebanon
Uganda
Article(s)
The death penalty at the heart of the debates of the 62nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
By Guillaume Colin - Jessica Corredor, on 15 May 2018
The 62nd Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR), the African Union body responsible for the promotion and protection of human rights in Africa, was held from April 25th to May 9th, 2018 in Nouakchott, Mauritania.The death penalty was at the heart of the debates throughout this Session, during panel discussions, side-events or during the review of the State’s periodic reports.
2018
Mauritania
Public Opinion
Article(s)
Experts analyse the relationship between poverty and the death penalty
By Dr. Lina M. Torres Rivera, on 18 June 2018
The International Studies Programme Overseas Relations Assembly and the Institute for Human Rights Research and Promotion (INIPRODEH) organised a forum: The Death Penalty and Poverty on the 89th anniversary of abolition of the death penalty in Puerto Rico. Eminent figures from the abolitionist movement and academia reviewed and analysed research into this issue.
2018
Puerto Rico
Article(s)
68th Ordinary Session African Commission on Human & Peoples’ Rights- Anti-Death Penalty Advocacy Continues
By Bronwyn Dudley, on 11 June 2021
The ACHPR (the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights) met virtually for its 68th Ordinary Session from 14 April – 4 May 2021.
2021
Terrorism
Women
Article(s)
Call for tenders for the contracting of travel management services
By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 15 June 2021
The World Coalition requires travel management services, on a non-exclusive basis, for World Coalition staff, members and partners.
2021