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379 Document(s) 23 Member(s) 495 Article(s) 10 Page(s)

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)

Leaflet – World Day 2024 & 2025

By World coalition against the death penalty, on 10 June 2024


2024

Campaigning

World Coalition

arfr
More 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(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)

Death Penalty Politics: The Fragility of Abolition in Asia and the Pacific

By Mark Finnane, Mai Sato and Susan Trevaskes, on 1 September 2022


2022

Academic report


More details See the document

Despite a steady increase worldwide in the number of states that have abolished the death penalty, capital punishment remains a troubling presence in the international order. The world’s leading powers in terms of economics and population include the retentionist states of China, India, Japan and the United States of America (USA). It seems there is no linear path to abolition, and its achievement is indeterminate. Yet, in international human rights law, death penalty abolition is a powerful norm embraced by half the countries across the world. While the majority of death penalty research has emanated from and focuses on the USA, well over 90 per cent of global executions occur in Asia, which lags behind the global trend towards abolishing the death penalty. Our symposium and this collection seek to bring perspectives from a variety of disciplines and methods—historical, legal, sociological, comparative— to bear on the questions of retention and abolition in a variety of jurisdictions and time periods.
This article was first published in Crime Justice Journal: https://www.crimejusticejournal.com/issue/view/119

  • Document type Academic report

Document(s)

Intiatives World Day 2005

By World coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2005


2005

Campaigning

Trend Towards Abolition

fr
More details See the document

Intiatives World Day 2005

Document(s)

The Death Penalty in 2022: Year End Report

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 16 December 2022


2022

NGO report

United States


More details See the document

In a year awash with incendiary political advertising that drove the public’s perception of rising crime to record highs, public support for capital punishment and jury verdicts for death remained near fifty-year lows. Defying conventional political wisdom, nearly every measure of change — from new death sentences imposed and executions conducted to public opinion polls and election results — pointed to the continuing durability of the more than 20-year sustained decline of the death penalty in the United States.
The Gallup crime survey, administered in the midst of the midterm elections while the capital trial for the 2018 mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida was underway, found that support for capital punishment remained within one percentage point of the half-century lows recorded in 2020 and 2021. The 20 new death sentences imposed in 2022 are fewer than in any year before the pandemic, and just 2 higher than the record lows of the prior two years. With the exception of the pandemic years of 2020 and 2021, the 18 executions in 2022 are the fewest since 1991.

  • Document type NGO report
  • Countries list United States

Document(s)

Leaflet – World Day 2022

By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 24 June 2022


2022

World Coalition

arfr
More details Download [ pdf - 1095 Ko ]

Leaflet for the 20th World Day against the death penalty (2022), on torture and the death penalty.

Document(s)

Children who are Impacted by a Family Member’s Death Sentence or Execution: Information for Mental Health Professionals

By National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN), Texas after violence project, Clinical and Support Options, on 11 December 2021


2021

Working with...

Juveniles


More details See the document

This tip sheet provides some guidelines for mental health professionals who may encounter or work with children and families related to individuals who have been sentenced to death or executed.

  • Document type Working with...
  • Themes list Juveniles

Member(s)

Comité des Observateurs des Droits de l’Homme (CODHO)

on 30 April 2020

On 1 July 1997 a group of lawyers, economists and political scientists from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) held a meeting following the massacre of children by militiamen in North Kivu in the east of the country. Revolted by this unspoken tragedy, they decided to set up the Committee of Human Rights Monitors (Codho). […]

2020

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Article(s)

No reason to delay commencement of DDAA 2017

By Charles Hector - Ngeow Chow Ying, on 4 April 2018

The Dangerous Drugs Amendment Act which was passed by the Parliament and received a Royal Assent on December 27, 2017, only came into force on March 15, 2018.This statement deals with the fact that there was no reasons to this delay and it has condemned 10 persons to the mandatory dealph penalty for drug trafficking between december and february.

2018

Malaysia

Member(s)

Puerto Rican Coalition Against Death Penalty

on 30 April 2020

The Puerto Rican Coalition against the Death Penalty (PCADP) is a non-party, non-sectarian organisation incorporated in Puerto Rico in March 2005 to promote the elimination of the capital punishment.The PCADP aims to join efforts among the different abolitionist organisations and activists in Puerto Rico. Its Statement of Principles emphasises that it does not believe in […]

2020

Puerto Rico

Article(s)

Mandatory Death Penalty for Blasphemy in Mauritania

By World Coalition Against the death penalty, on 11 May 2018

Through this joint statement twenty one national and international NGOs, calls upon Mauritanian authorities to reverse the recent adoption of a law on apostasy related crimes making the death penalty mandatory for blasphemy.

2018

Mauritania

Public Opinion 

Article(s)

« A new Gambia » welcomes the 61st session of the ACHPR

By FIACAT and World Coalition against the Death Penalty, on 21 November 2017

From November 1st to November 15, 2017, the 61st session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, as well as the NGO Forum, took place in Banjul, Gambia. During the opening session, the President of The Gambia, Adama Barrow, confirmed the “New Gambia’s commitment” to human rights.

2017

Gambia

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)

Irreversible abolition of the death penalty in Togo and the Dominican Republic

By Guillaume Colin and Aurélie Plaçais, on 27 September 2016

On 14 September 2016, Togo acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on the abolition of the death penalty, joined on 21 September 2016 by the Dominican Republic. These accessions make abolition of the death penalty in Togo and the Dominican Republic irreversible.

2016

Dominican Republic

Togo

Document(s)

International Law and the Death Penalty Guide

By The Death Penalty Project, on 1 November 2022


2022

NGO report


More details See the document

The use of capital punishment has been an issue addressed by international human rights law since the earliest days of the United Nations. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, adopted by the General Assembly in 1948, and an instrument widely recognised as the gold standard for human rights, affirms the right to life and the prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. The Death Penalty Project produced this resource on international law and the death penalty.

  • Document type NGO report

Document(s)

Estimating the effect of death penalty moratoriums on homicide rates using the synthetic control method

By Stephen N. Oliphant, on 18 September 2022


2022

Academic report

Moratorium

United States


More details See the document

Research examining death penalty deterrence has been characterized as inconclusive and uninformative. The present analysis heeds a recommendation from prior research to examine single-state changes in death penalty policy using the synthetic control method. Data from the years 1979–2019 were used to construct synthetic controls and estimate the effects of death penalty moratoriums on homicide rates in Illinois, New Jersey, Washington, and Pennsylvania. Moratoriums on capital punishment resulted in nonsignificant homicide reductions in all four states.

  • Document type Academic report
  • Countries list United States
  • Themes list Moratorium

Article(s)

Event on the UNGA resolution for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty at the World Congress

By Federica Merenda, on 27 June 2016

In the context of the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, the World Coalition together with Hands Off Cain and Amnesty International co-hosted a side event focusing on the 6th UNGA resolution for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, whose adoption will be decided in New York in December this year.

2016

Moratorium

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)

Pardon Prisoners On Death Row

By Lucy Peace Nantume, on 8 November 2016

At the end of October, the death sentences of more than 2,500 prisoners were commuted by the Kenyan President. The presidential power of mercy was also recently exercised by the Zimbabwean President, where 10 death row prisoners were pardoned.

2016

Clemency

Kenya

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)

Hope resonates globally on World Day against the Death Penalty

By Nicolas Chua, on 25 October 2018

On 10 October 2018, abolitionist forces around the world celebrated the 16th World Day against the Death Penalty in a flurry of diverse activities and events meant to raise awareness on living conditions on death row. Activists in every continent mobilized civil society, challenged governments and reached out to the general public in a collective effort to promote and advance the common goal of universal, worldwide abolition of the death penalty.

2018

Death Row Conditions 

Article(s)

7th Congress – Preventing the resurgence of the death penalty

By Louis Linel, on 19 March 2019

The fragile victories of the abolitionist movement are being undermined by several states ready to resume the use of the death penalty, at the cost of abuses.

2019

Article(s)

Parliamentarians from Francophone Africa meet in Kinshasa to discuss the abolition of the death penalty

By Parliamentarians for Global Action, on 12 June 2018

The 1st and 2nd June 2018, Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), Ensemble contre la peine de mort (Together against the death penalty, ECPM) and Culture pour la paix et la justice (Culture for peace and justice, CPJ) organised in Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC) a regional parliamentary seminar entitled “Abolition of the death penalty in Africa: the role of parliamentarians”, with the support of the European Union and of the Honourable Aubin Minaku, Speaker of the National Assembly of the DRC and Member of PGA.

2018

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Public Opinion 

Document(s)

Facts and Figures 2007

By World Coaliton against the death penalty , on 10 October 2009


2009

Campaigning

Trend Towards Abolition

fr
More details Download [ pdf - 24 Ko ]

Facts and Figures 2007

Document(s)

Facts and Figures 2013

on 10 October 2013


2013

Campaigning

Trend Towards Abolition

ares
More details Download [ pdf - 115 Ko ]

Facts and Figures world day against the death penalty 2013

World coalition against death penalty

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)

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)

Philippines: House of Representatives must uphold international law obligations ahead of first death penalty vote

By Amnesty International & other organisations, on 19 February 2017

Nine international organisations are calling upon the Philippines to uphold its international obligations and not to restore death penalty in the country.

2017

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Philippines

Public Opinion 

Article(s)

ACAT-CI commits to the ratification of OP2 in Côte d’Ivoire

By N'guettia Yves Arsene Kouadio - ACAT Côte d'Ivoire, on 4 January 2017

Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture in Côte d’Ivoire (ACAT CI) has conducted advocacy activities between May and November 2016 in order to raise awareness on the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (OP2), aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. This project has been supported by the International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF) and the International Federation of ACAT (FIACAT).

2017

Côte d'Ivoire

Public Opinion 

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 

Document(s)

Facts and Figures 2008

By World Coalition against the death penalty , on 10 October 2008


2008

Campaigning

Trend Towards Abolition

fr
More details See the document

Facts and Figures 2008

Article(s)

The United Nations Human Rights Council votes in favor of a new resolution on the death penalty

By Jessica Corredor, on 4 October 2017

After putting the death penalty at the heart of discussion, the 36th session of the United Nations Human Rights Council ended with the adoption of a resolution on the death penalty.

2017

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Article(s)

Discussion at the Human Rights Council of human rights violations related to the use of the death penalty

By Jessica Corredor, on 7 March 2017

From Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, to abolitionist and retentionist government representatives and World Coalition members, participants to the Biennial high-level discussion on death penalty exchanged views in order to address human rights violations related to the use of the death penalty, in particular with respect to the prohibition of torture.

2017

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

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)

Towards the abolition of the death penalty in DRC: advances to be confirmed

By Olivier LUNGWE FATAKI - Pax Christi Uvira, on 13 December 2016

To date, the Democratic Republic of the Congo maintains the death penalty in its legislation. The proponents of the capital punishment argue that it remains an efficient tool for deterrence in general as well as a solution to the recurring criminal phenomenon hitting the country’s Eastern part.

2016

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Moratorium

Public Opinion 

CSHRD logo

Member(s)

Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders CSHRD

on 24 July 2024

The Coalition of Somali Human Rights Defenders (CSHRD) is an organization dedicated to promoting and protecting human rights in Somalia. CSHRD was established in 2014. CSHRD runs holistic and comprehensive torture victims rehabilitation centre in Somalia. CSHRD work is guided by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights UDHR and the SDGs of 1, 5, 10, […]

2024

Somalia

World Coalition Against the Death Penalyt

Article(s)

The death penalty in the DRC: an illusory means of combating impunity in the face of human rights implementation

By Mr Olivier LUNGWE FATAKI of Pax Christi Uvira, absl, on 30 August 2024

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) is one of the States which has retained the death penalty in its legal arsenal, although applies a de facto moratorium on executions since 2003.

2024

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Advocacy in Addis-Ababa

Article(s)

Advocating for the Adoption of the Draft Protocol by the African Union: A Step in the Right Direction for Abolition in Africa 

By Florence Venunye Ayivor-Vieira and Hervé Nsambimana, on 15 December 2023

Advocacy in Addis-Ababa On the 10 October 2023, the FIACAT (International Federation of ACATs), and the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, represented by Ms. Florence Ayivor-Vieira of ACAT-Ghana and Mr. Hervé Nsabimana of CODHAS (Centre d’observation des Droits de l’Homme et d’Assistance Sociale), Co-Chairpersons of the World Coalition’s working group on the draft protocol […]

2023

Trend Towards Abolition

UN Human Rights Council

Article(s)

Abolition of the death penalty at the United Nations Human Rights Council 54th session

on 30 August 2024

 The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 54th Regular Session from September 11 to October 13, 2023. If you missed it, here is what happened regarding the abolition of the death penalty!

2024

Trend Towards Abolition

Article(s)

Gambia and Madagascar commit to irreversible abolition

By Aurelie Placais, on 22 September 2017

on 20 and 21 September 2017, Gambia signed and Madagascar ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.

2017

Gambia

Member(s)

Coalizione italiana contro la pena di morte

on 30 April 2020

The Italian Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (ICADP) was established to form a network between both Italian and foreign groups, associations, movements, and individuals that oppose capital punishment, and to coordinate their work and efforts. The ICADP holds talks about the death penalty around the world, spreads information and promotes campaigns. It is especially […]

2020

Italy

Article(s)

Sri Lanka: the death sentences of 60 prisoners commuted

By Elise Guillot, on 17 February 2017

Good news from Sri Lanka: by decision of the President, the death sentences of 60 prisoners have been commuted.

2017

Sri Lanka

Article(s)

EU-NGO forum: death penalty is a priority

on 6 August 2010

At a meeting in Brussels in July, European institutions and NGOs restated their commitment to a long-term partnership to oppose the death penalty worldwide.

2010

Innocence

Japan

Murder Victims' Families

Article(s)

International support for abolition is continuing to grow – foreign ministers

By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 9 October 2015

The Declaration signed by 18 Foreign Ministers from different world regions, including several that are still on a path towards abolition of the death penalty, brings one common message: International support for abolition is continuing to grow, driven by an increasing awareness of the death penalty’s inherent risks and shortcomings.

2015

Argentina

Australia

Benin

Brazil

Burkina Faso

Costa Rica

Fiji

Haiti

Latvia

Madagascar

Mexico

Mongolia

Norway

Philippines

Poland

Spain

Switzerland

Turkey

Article(s)

Death sentences in Morocco

on 9 May 2007

The World Coalition against the death penalty, the FIDH and the Moroccan Coalition against the Death Penalty are concerned with the continued pronunciation of death sentences by Moroccan courts

2007

Morocco

Article(s)

US Supreme Court revives “failed” death penalty

on 17 April 2008

The World Coalition condemns the April 16th decision of the United States Supreme Court upholding the lethal injection as a humane method of executing a human being.

2008

Moratorium

United States

Article(s)

From moratorium to abolition: Africa wants to make the jump

on 28 February 2010

Five African icons in the struggle against the death penalty joined together to debate the transition from a moratorium on executions to full legal abolition.

2010

Burundi

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Togo

Uganda

Article(s)

Opening up the debate in countries with the death penalty

By Penal Reform International, on 19 September 2011

On 19 and 20 September, World Coalition member organisation Penal Reform International (PRI) is bringing 120 people from retentionist countries to London to discuss global trends towards abolition of the death penalty.

2011

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Public Opinion 

Syrian Arab Republic

United Kingdom

Article(s)

Four World Coalition members among NCADP award winners

on 3 February 2008

Each year, the US National Coalition Against the Death Penalty honours those individuals and organisations that have made outstanding contributions to the struggle against the death penalty. This year’s award winners included a number of World Coalition members.

2008

United States

Article(s)

Activists celebrate abolition in Uzbekistan

on 7 January 2008

Uzbekistan became the first state to abolish the death penalty in 2008. World Coalition members Community of Sant’Egidio and Mothers Against the Death Penalty, who have led a campaign in the region, welcome the move.

2008

Moratorium

Uzbekistan

Article(s)

“Ending the death penalty in Lebanon and worldwide”

on 5 November 2007

Over 75 people attended the conference focussing on the legal and social perspectives of the abolition of capital punishment in Beyrouth on October 17.

2007

Lebanon

Moratorium

Murder Victims' Families

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)

Flurry of initiatives against the death penalty at ACATs in the past year

on 7 August 2007

During the past year, the 28 member associations in the FIACAT network have given their abolitionist activities a boost. The issue of the death penalty is at the heart of their mission.

2007

Belgium

Burundi

Canada

Democratic Republic of the Congo

France

Luxembourg

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Article(s)

2007 Campaign : developing the world abolitionist movement

on 1 May 2007

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has obtained financial support from the European Commission for its 2007 campaign, an indication of its growing recognition and legitimacy.

2007

Article(s)

China refuses to consider 250,000-strong petition

on 16 June 2008

A World Coalition delegation found the door closed on June 16 when they attempted to handover to the Chinese Liaison Office in Hong Kong a petition urging for changes in the death penalty system in China.

2008

China

Fair Trial

Innocence

Moratorium

Article(s)

Sharing best practices on ratifying the UN treaty to abolish the death penalty

By Aurélie Plaçais, on 25 September 2011

Belgium and the United Nations’ human rights office have held a panel discussion to promote efforts in favour of the strongest international instrument against capital punishment.

2011

Belgium

Mongolia

Moratorium

Russian Federation

Article(s)

2009 Amnesty statistics: at least 714 executions… excluding China

on 30 March 2010

Amnesty International has released its report on the death penalty in the world in 2009. The organisation has decided to exclude China from its calculation due to the lack of transparency on capital punishment in that country.

2010

Belarus

Burundi

China

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Fair Trial

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Iraq

Saudi Arabia

Togo

United States

Article(s)

Joint Open Letter to the President of Sri Lanka on the Imminent Resumption of Executions

By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 2 July 2019

The letter, co-signed by 58 organizations, encourages the President of Sri Lanka to do everything in his power to stop executions in Sri Lanka and consign the death penalty to the history books.

2019

Sri Lanka

Article(s)

Strong support for US abolitionists on World Day

on 11 October 2010

On 10.10.10, the 8th World Day against the Death Penalty focused on ending the use of the death penalty in the United States of America. Since 2003, abolitionists have taken actions all over the world every 10 October to raise awareness and opposition to the death penalty.

2010

Juveniles

Mental Illness

Public Opinion 

United States

Article(s)

Asia: Stop executions and unfair trials

By ADPAN, on 6 December 2011

A hard-line group of Asian countries are defying the global trend against the death penalty and putting to death thousands of people after unfair trials every year, the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) said today in a new report.

2011

Member(s)

Association Justice et Miséricorde (AJEM)

on 30 April 2020

The Association Justice and Mercy (AJEM) is a  Lebanese nonprofit, nonpolitical and nonsectarian nongovernmental organization (NGO) created in 1996 at the initiative of a group of social workers. AJEM deals mainly with the right of prisoners in Lebanon, and more generally with human rights, the fight against torture and other cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, […]

2020

Lebanon

Article(s)

More than 1,000 sentenced to death in Iraq in 8 years

By Dr Nasr Abbood, on 1 March 2012

The Iraqi institutions established after the US-led invasion and the fall of Saddam Hussein have reinstated the death penalty and extended its scope since 2004. In this op-ed article, Iraqi Coalition Against the Death Penalty president Nassr Abood calls for alternative sentences and for a strong stance from the international community.

2012

Drug Offenses

Iraq

Iraq

Terrorism

Article(s)

Ratification of abolition treaties gathers pace in 2012

By Aurelie Placais, on 20 March 2012

The ratification campaign for the international protocols on the death penalty is on a roll with three new ratifications since January.

2012

Angola

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Cambodia

Honduras

Kyrgyzstan

Latvia

Mongolia

Poland

Article(s)

Spot opportunities and focus on education, abolitionists are told

on 24 February 2010

The workshop on “Defining strategies for abolition” was an opportunity for abolitionists to share views and experience on what works – and what does not – when pushing for the repeal of the death penalty.

2010

Ghana

South Africa

Switzerland

Taiwan

Article(s)

South Korea’s 5,000th day without an execution an opportunity for abolition

By Martin Carbonell with ADPAN and MVFHR, on 8 September 2011

8th September 2011 marks the 5,000th day without executions in South Korea. Houng-oh Kim, a member of the National Assembly and former Speaker, is aiming to introduce a new bill abolishing the death penalty to mark this occasion.

2011

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Moratorium

Republic of Korea

Article(s)

India asked to maintain the moratorium on executions

By Emile Carreau, on 28 July 2011

After a six year moratorium on executions, India’s President Patil has rejected the mercy petition of two Indian nationals despite international outcry to maintain the moratorium.

2011

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Drug Offenses

India

Moratorium

Article(s)

Singaporean and Malaysian activists welcome changes in their country

By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 16 July 2012

In Singapore and Malaysia, governments are considering removing mandatory death penalty in some drug and murder cases. A move welcomed by activists on the ground, though they consider it “only a small step in the right direction”.

2012

Drug Offenses

Malaysia

Singapore

Article(s)

Paris activists lie down against US federal executions

on 10 July 2009

ACAT-France and Amnesty International France staged their 9th “die-in” against the death penalty in the United States.

2009

Death Row Conditions 

France

France

Innocence

United States

Article(s)

Puerto Rico hosts a week of World Coalition events

on 16 February 2011

International abolitionists gathered on the Caribbean territory to promote their message and to show solidarity with the local authorities against capital punishment.

2011

Murder Victims' Families

Public Opinion 

Puerto Rico

United States

Article(s)

US death sentences hit new low in 2009

By Death Penalty Information Center, on 7 January 2010

As legal efforts and economic woes weighed in against the death penalty, fewer Americans were sent to death row in 2009 than any other year since the restoration of capital punishment in the US in 1976.

2010

Mental Illness

United States

Article(s)

Fear of mass executions in Iraq

on 4 January 2010

Information obtained by the World Coalition suggests that the Iraqi authorities have been planning the mass execution of nearly 1,000 people. In a column offered to international newspapers, the World Coalition denounces that barbaric plan.

2010

Clemency

Iraq

Iraq

Women

Article(s)

UN Protocol on death penalty turns 20

on 15 December 2009

For 20 years, the United Nations Protocol to abolish the death penalty has been the only universal treaty of worldwide scope to prohibit executions and secure universal abolition of the death penalty for all crimes.

2009

Armenia

Burundi

Côte d'Ivoire

Dominican Republic

El Salvador

Kazakhstan

Kyrgyzstan

Latvia

Mauritius

Poland

Article(s)

Amnesty 2010 stats: retentionist countries increasingly isolated

on 28 March 2011

Countries which continue to use the death penalty are being left increasingly isolated following a decade of progress towards abolition, Amnesty International has said in its new report Death Sentences and Executions in 2010.

2011

China

Drug Offenses

Egypt

Fair Trial

Indonesia

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Juveniles

Lao People's Democratic Republic

Libya

Malaysia

Moratorium

Pakistan

Sudan

Thailand

United Arab Emirates

United States

Yemen

Article(s)

7th World Day Against the Death Penalty: teaching abolition

By Aurélie Plaçais, on 27 July 2009

On 10 October 2009, World Day Against the Death Penalty, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty wishes to teach abolition to all citizens around the world, especially to teenagers aged 14 to 18.

2009

Public Opinion 

Article(s)

Kyrgyzstan becomes 73rd country to pass irreversible abolition

on 17 December 2010

Following one year of lobbying led by the World Coalition, the Central Asian country has become a party to the UN protocol on the abolition of the death penalty.

2010

Kyrgyzstan

Moratorium

Article(s)

ICC paves the way for justice without killing

on 18 July 2009

The University of Kinshasa has hosted a conference on the theme of death penalty-free justice to celebrate the 11th anniversary of the Rome Statute, which established the International Criminal Court.

2009

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Article(s)

Abolition in New Mexico hailed around the world

on 19 March 2009

New Mexico’s governor Bill Richardson signed the repeal of the death penalty in to law on March 18, 2009, attracting praise from the global abolitionist community.

2009

United States

Article(s)

Liberia illegally restores the death penalty

on 28 July 2008

New Liberian legislation makes some violent crimes punishable by death, in violation of the country’s international obligations.

2008

Liberia

Liberia

Terrorism

Article(s)

Abolition of death penalty is now complete in Italy

on 4 March 2009

Italy became the 41st state to ratify the 13th Protocol to the European Convention for Human Rights on 3 March 2009.

2009

Italy

Article(s)

Nicaragua makes abolition irreversible

on 4 March 2009

Nicaragua became the 71th state to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant for Civil and Politic Rights on 25 February 2009.

Nicaragua

Nicaragua

Article(s)

Vietnam considers reduction in scope of death penalty

on 9 February 2009

Vietnamese Justice Minister Ha Hung Cuong has proposed a reduction in the number of capital offences – a demand put forward by the World Coalition’s demands on World Day Against the Death Penalty.

2009

Drug Offenses

Viet Nam

Viet Nam

Article(s)

Algerian MPs want to abolish the death penalty

on 9 December 2008

A group of Algerian parliamentarians has filed a bill aimed at abolishing capital punishment. The World Coalition supports their campaign to have the proposed legislation passed.

2008

Algeria

Moratorium

Article(s)

Africa’s human rights body takes a stance against the death penalty

on 30 November 2008

The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights calls for a moratorium on executions and the ratification of the UN Protocol for the abolition of the death penalty.

2008

Fair Trial

Article(s)

800 cities light up for life

on 17 November 2008

On November 30, monuments in nearly 800 cities across the globe will light up to celebrate “Cities for Life – Cities Against the Death Penalty”.

2008

Italy

Public Opinion 

Article(s)

Two days to discuss abolition in Morocco

on 27 October 2008

Gathered in Rabat on World Day Against the Death Penalty, Moroccan and international politicians, religious leaders and campaigners held advanced discussions on this subject. The country has not carried out a single execution in the last fifteen years.

2008

Moratorium

Morocco

Article(s)

Awareness Building Workshop with African Union Members

By Bronwyn Dudley, on 14 May 2019

The end of March saw a first of its kind awareness-building workshop in Addis-Ababa, Ethiopia for the permanent French-speaking members to the African Union. Moderated by the ACHPR’s Working Group on the Death Penalty and Extrajudicial, Summary of Arbitrary Killings in Africa in close collaboration with FIACAT, the World Coalition and the Organisation International de la Francophonie (OIF), the training focused on raising awareness of the Draft Protocol on the Abolition of the Death Penalty.

2019

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)

10 years, 132 members, 45 countries

By Florence Bellivier, on 30 June 2012

Penal Reform International welcomed the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty to celebrate its tenth anniversary in Jordan with support from Justice Minister Khalifa Al Sulaiman.

2012

Drug Offenses

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Iraq

Jordan

Moratorium

Singapore

Taiwan

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

Article(s)

From restrictions to abolition

By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 17 August 2012

The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights has published a new report and called for abolition of the death penalty.

2012

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Bahamas

Barbados

Belize

Bolivia (Plurinational State of)

Brazil

Canada

Chile

Colombia

Costa Rica

Cuba

Dominica

Dominican Republic

Ecuador

El Salvador

Grenada

Guatemala

Guyana

Haiti

Honduras

Jamaica

Mexico

Nicaragua

Panama

Paraguay

Peru

Saint Kitts and Nevis

Saint Lucia

Saint Vincent and the Grenadines

Trinidad and Tobago

United States

Uruguay

Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)

advocacy workshop Burundi

Article(s)

Burundi: Promising advocacy workshop for the ratification of the abolitionist treaty

By Sarah Saint-Sorny, on 10 June 2022

On April 25, 2022, the Burundian Prison Observatory (BPO) organized a one-day advocacy workshop on the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (OP2-ICCPR) with the support of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.

2022

Burundi

Article(s)

Divided opinions on death penalty in Belarus

on 8 October 2013

On the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, World Coalition member organizations Penal Reform International and Belarus Helsinki Committee are releasing a rare opinion poll on what people know and think about capital punishment in the last European country with the death penalty.

2013

Belarus

Belarus

Public Opinion 

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

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)

Mexico fights on after Texas illegally executes one of its nationals

By Thomas Hubert, on 23 January 2014

The execution of Edgar Tamayo in violation of an international court order spurs Mexico to pursue its efforts in favour of consular rights in the US, a diplomat says.

2014

Mexico

United States

Article(s)

National conference gives Lebanese abolitionist movement a boost

By Thomas Hubert, on 14 February 2014

Several hundred activists, experts and political leaders met in Beirut at the end of January to push the abolitionist cause with the Lebanese authorities and organise their movement at the national level.

2014

Lebanon

Moratorium

Article(s)

Top UN representatives take stance on death penalty at Human Rights Council

By World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 14 March 2014

From UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to abolitionist and retentionist government ministers and World Coalition members, participants to a recent discussion on the death penalty placed the issue high on the international agenda.

2014

Afghanistan

Benin

Brazil

Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment and Punishment

Iran (Islamic Republic of)

Mongolia

Morocco

Myanmar

Namibia

Pakistan

Saudi Arabia

Sierra Leone

Singapore

Sudan

United States

Article(s)

Iraq’s frantic executions pace linked to serious human rights violations

By Thomas Hubert, on 27 March 2014

Iraq emerges as the country with the fastest-growing number of executions in Amnesty International’s new annual report on the death penalty. The World Coalition’s submission for Iraq’s upcoming UN human rights review calls for a moratorium on abusive executions.

2014

Fair Trial

Iraq

Iraq

Terrorism

Article(s)

New Hampshire one vote short of abolition

By Emile Carreau, on 25 April 2014

A bill to repeal the death penalty in the US state of New Hampshire was blocked in the Senate on 22 April with votes for and against the bill deadlocked at 12-12. Despite the disappointment, Renny Cushing, Executive Director of World Coalition member organisation Murder Victims’ Families for Human Rights, sees some positives.

2014

United States