INDEX

The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 52nd Regular Session from February 27 to April 4, 2023. If you missed it, here is what happened regarding the abolition of the death penalty!

Early 2023, the newly elected government of Israel announced an ensemble of judicial reforms; including a new bill that would introduce the death penalty for acts of terrorism. As of May 2023, the judicial reforms have been put on hold by the PM Netanyahu. This article takes a historical perspective to recontextualize the issue of […]

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 […]

Petitioners challenging the potential resumption of executions in Sri Lanka experienced received reassuring news on 23 February 2023 when the Attorney General of Sri Lanka reported to the Supreme Court that the incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe has agreed to not implement executions during his tenure.

On 8 March 2023, Azerbaijan signed Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms.

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

According to the Death Penalty Information Center (DPIC) annual review, 2022 has been the eighth consecutive year with less than 30 people executed and less than 50 people sentenced to death during the year in the United States of America.

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. 

“Psychologically I am no longer human.”. This tweet by the World Organization Against Torture, quoting an interview with Richard Yav, a former security guard who was wrongly sentenced to death for 20 years in Benin, sheds light on the various impacts of torture.

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.