INDEX

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.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, a World Coalition member, has called on the government formed following recent elections to suspend executions. A previous moratorium order has expired and many prisoners are at risk of being hanged.While the 2008 moratorium was introduced under the rule of the Pakistan People Party, whose former leader Benazir Bhutto was a well-known abolitionist, it expired shortly after Nawaz Sharif of the Pakistan Muslim League became Prime minister.
Pakistan had already broken the moratorium when it executed a soldier in November 2012.

World Coalition members and a man who spent 18 years on death row for murders he did not commit joined UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon for a debate on capital punishment.

52 year-old black woman Kimberly McCarthy was executed on 26 June and became the 500th prisoner put to death since Texas restored the death penalty in 1982.

After a seven-year moratorium, four men were hanged on 24 June and other executions are being planned.

The 5th World Congress Against the Death Penalty took place in Madrid between 12-15 June 2013. During three days, it united members of international civil society, politicians, and legal experts to elaborate abolitionist strategies for the years to come at the national, regional, and international levels, and to send out a clear message to the world: that universal abolition is essential for a world where progress and justice must prevail.

While Africa has been the fastest region in abolishing capital punishment in recent years, lawyers from Uganda and Nigeria say they are facing increasing from the authorities to use the death penalty.

The role of lawyers in the fight against the death penalty has been discussed from different angles throughout the 5th World Congress, but the testimony of Chinese lawyers caught most people’s attention.

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has elected a new Steering Committee and a new Executive Board to serve for two years.

Although most executions continue to take place in Asia, their number is going down – and abolitionists are coming up with new ideas to bring about abolition.