Your search “com16501.content.olc.org/com/ref/collection/criminal/did/154 ”

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has published a new how-to guide, in collaboration with Mr. Isidore Clément Capo-Chichi, President of the Beninese Commission on Human Rights. It is aimed for civil society organizations and illustrates how to collaborate with National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) to achieve the abolition of the death penalty. In […]

Hands Off Cain’s 2011 Report contains the most important facts regarding the practice of the death penalty in 2010 and the first six months of 2011.

The first six months of 2022 have been rich for the abolitionist community with two new abolitionist countries and a new ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty. However, some countries continue to use the death penalty and there […]

Oral statement on behalf of FIACAT, FIDH, World Coalition against the Death Penalty, ECPM, Avocats sans frontières, COJESKI-RDC, ECPM, RAL and Reprieve on the activities of the Members of the Commission and the Special Mechanisms.

On 24 May, Amnesty International published their annual report on the global use of the death penalty, which shows the overall sentences and executions in 2021 Global figures Amnesty International recorded 579 executions in 18 countries in 2021, an increase of 20% from the 483 recorded in 2020. Despite these increases, the 2021 global executions figure constitutes the second-lowest figure recorded […]

Rizana Nafeek, a Sri Lankan servant sentenced to death by a Saudi court, is facing decapitation. ACAT-France and ECPM have joined forces to defend poor immigrants at risk of capital punishment in Saudi Arabia.

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.

We welcome Lebanon’s position in accepting some of the recommendations on strengthening the justice sector and improving strengthening the justice sector and those aimed at improving the conditions of detention, including the fight against acts of torture and ill-treatment.

Everyone agrees that the highest international standards should apply in the fight against drug. But what about the standards used in punishing traffickers- and the inappropriate use of the death penalty against such criminals?

In a new report, Amnesty International analyses some of the key developments in the worldwide application of the death penalty, citing figures it has gathered on the number of death sentences handed down and executions carried out in 2011.

As the 36th session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was being held under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council from 02 to 13 November, the Advocates for Human Rights, a member organization of the World Coalition, facilitated Facebook live debriefings to cover the review of States that have not yet abolished capital […]

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.

San Juan, Puerto Rico – On September 27, 2012, a jury declined the United States Government petition to impose capital punishment in a murder trial on the Federal District Court. The Puerto Rico Bar Association and the Puerto Rico Coalition Against the Death Penalty were among the organizations who led a series of vigils, press releases, radio and television appearances, along many other events to raise the voice of abolitionism and justice.

Research by Amnesty International and a group of Nigerian NGOs has revealed that covert executions have been taking place in Nigeria’s prisons.

Thanks to a campaign by Coalition Member Reprieve and others, Danish chemicals company Lundbeck is feeling the heat from all sides for selling execution drugs to US prisons.

Togo’s National Assembly passed a bill abolishing the death penalty on June 23, 2009. Spanish Prime Minister José Luis Zapatero, who was visiting the country, attended the parliamentary session to witness the event.

On 15 December 2022, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the 9th resolution for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty with 125 votes in favor (2 more than in 2020), 37 votes against, 22 abstentions and 9 absent.

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.

The African human rights watchdog has asked Libya not to execute 20 Nigerians on death row in the North African country after a Nigerian NGO highlighted their plight.

The World Coalition launched its action programme in favour of the UN Protocol to abolish the death penalty on 21 October in Geneva.

Two French organisations have won a court case against an exhibition presenting human bodies likely to be those of executed Chinese citizens.

The authorities of Taiwan have executed six prisoners, days after President Ma met World Coalition representatives and promised to “reduce the use” of the death penalty.

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.

The ACHPR (African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights) 77th Public Ordinary Session was held in Arusha, Tanzania from 20 October – 9 November 2023.

In July 2023, the World Coalition hosted a seminar in Malaysia in the context of its “Countries at Risk” project. This subject of informal moratoriums solicited much interest as participants considered preventative strategies for stopping a return to the death penalty, and what environmental factors need to be considered to implement those strategies. This article […]

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.

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

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.

A Japanese abolitionist organisation has criticised both the Chinese and the Japanese authorities after the series of executions.

 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!

The new president’s nominee for the post of attorney general opposes the death penalty and the number of executions and sentences is falling in the US.

17 ministers and numerous experts met in Rome on May 17 to discuss crime-busting policies that reject the death penalty. Representatives for the Republic of Congo and Burkina Faso pledged their support for abolition.

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.

The United Nations Human Rights Council met for its 55th Regular Session from February 26 to April 5, 2024. If you missed it, here is what happened regarding the abolition of the death penalty!

On June 2, 2009, the 200th execution authorized by governor Rick Perry took place in Texas. Protests were scheduled from Huntsville to Paris to denounce the death penalty situation in the southern US state.

The FIDH and the Vietnam Committee on Human Rights released a new report, From Visions to Facts: Human Rights in Vietnam under its Chairmanship of ASEAN, on 16 August 2010.

From 14 May to 3 June 2024, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights (ACHPR) held its 79th Ordinary Session in a hybrid format. Members of the Commission and staff of its Secretariat physically attended the Session in Banjul, Gambia; all other participants attended the Session online via Zoom.

Activists in Japan and elsewhere have criticised Justice Minister Keiko Chiba for ordering two men to be hanged in Tokyo on July 28 despite her earlier abolitionist statements.

A few days out from the World Day Against the Death Penalty, California has decided not to resume executions. A shortage of one of the drugs used for lethal injections gives death row inmates and abolitionists more time to continue the legal battle.

In the run-up to the Beijing Olympic Games in 2008, action is increasing to call China to account for its copious use of the death penalty. Far from being a western whim, abolition of capital punishment in China would be a return to an imperial decision made in the 18th century.

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.

Ending the death penalty means finding replacement sanctions to punish former capital crimes – while taking into accounts human rights standards.

The World Coalition has developed and published a training manual, in partnership with its member the International Federation of Christians Against Torture (FIACAT), on working with the African Union’s human rights organ, the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR). This how-to guide was created specifically for civil society to help encourage successful interaction with the ACHPR, a growing and influential human rights mechanism on the continent.

A year-end report by the Death Penalty Information Center highlights the continuing trend towards abolition with New Hampshire’s latest abolition, California’s moratorium, and the near-record low numbers of executions.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia once again made its mark on the international scene by executing 37 people sentenced to death for terrorism in six regions of the country on Tuesday, 23 April 2019, 36 of whom were beheaded, while the last was crucified.

The 64th Ordinary Session of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) is concluding in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt. The ACHPR, the African Union organ steadfast in promoting and protecting human rights on the African continent, held the session from 24 April – 14 May 2019. Despite holding official human right’s discussions in a country where sentencing and executions are on the rise, the abolitionist voice was still heard.

The Death Penalty Project, in partnership with Veritas, launches “12 Years Without an Execution: Is Zimbabwe Ready for Abolition?” a national public opinion study, providing for the first time comprehensive and contextualised data on public attitudes towards the death penalty in Zimbabwe – a country that has not carried out any executions in over 12 years.

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.

The report shows that in 2017 at least 517 people were executed in the Islamic Republic of Iran. This number is comparable with the execution figures in 2016 and confirms the relative reduction in the use of the death penalty compared to the period between 2010 and 2015.

Despite its national and international commitment not to carry out any executions, Philippines is taking worrying measures toward the reinstatement of the death penalty for drug offenses. Determined to thwart the government’s plan, the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines has taken various actions, including an awareness campaign for the 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty.

While officiating the new Chief Justice at the State House, the President of Tanzania, President Magufuli, expressed his support towards the abolitionist movement by refusing to sign any future death warrant. For the Tanzanian Coalition Against the Death Penalty, this statement is an unhoped opportunity to ask for the complete abolition of the death penalty in the country.

The Philippines are a step closer to the reintroduction of the death penalty, violating their international obligations.

Khachig Ghosn is a 22-year-old student of social work at the Lebanese University. Three years ago, he witnessed an explosion in Beirut. Despite this dramatic experience, he is against the use of the death penalty and he is convinced that capital executions have no deterrent effect on terrorism.Ghosn is aware that changes in his country take a very long time, but he has a positive long-term vision and hopes that the death penalty will be abolished.

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.

This report covers the judicial use of the death penalty for the period January to December 2014. As in previous years, information is collected from a variety of sources, including: official figures; information from individuals sentenced to death and their families and representatives; reporting by other civil society organizations; and media reports. Amnesty International reports only on executions, death sentences and other aspects of the use of the death penalty, such as commutations and exonerations, where there is reasonable confirmation.

The UN has renewed the mandate of its special rapporteur on Iran as a new IHR/ECPM annual report exposes rising execution numbers since increased engagement between President Rohani and the West.

Iraq’s ambassador to Paris met representatives from the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty as the country has been accelerating the rhythm of executions.

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.

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.

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty held its Steering Committee meeting on 11/04/2018 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire, following the Regional Congress held on 09-10 April 2018.

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).

The 3rd World Congress Against the Death Penalty came to an end in Paris on 3 February 2007. It was an opportunity for abolitionists from all around the world to come together in greater numbers than ever to exchange experiences and prospects for the future.

On 18 March 2019, the State of Palestine acceded to the United Nations Treaty aiming to abolish the death penalty, becoming the 87th State Party to the OP2-PIDCP.

The Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL) notes that 19 December, 2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the hanging of Charles la Place in St Kitts and Nevis. He was the last person who was hanged in the English-speaking Caribbean.

On 28 September 2018, during the UN Treaty Event in New York, Gambia ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, aiming at the irreversible abolition of the death penalty, alongside the Convention Against Torture.

On 30 May 2019, the NH state Senate voted to override the governor’s veto. The death penalty repeal took effect immediately.

Nauru recently ended its de facto moratorium by abolishing the death penalty in law.

The National Law University, Delhi (“University”) is seeking to engage on a contractual basis, one Director (Research) for Project 39A.

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.

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.

Legal Defence and Assistance Project (LEDAP) condemns the killing on December 23 2016 of three death row prisoners in Benin City prison on death warrants signed by the Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki. Those executed were Ogbomoro Omoregie, Apostle Igene and Mark Omosowhota. They were all convicted and sentenced to death nearly 20 years ago by military tribunals under the Robbery and Firearms (Special Provisions) Decree as amended.

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.

World Coalition member organization FIACAT has taken part in a follow up mission to the Ivory Coast after the African human rights body issued the country with recommendations including ratifying the treaty that copperfastens abolition.

As the worldwide trend towards abolition of the death penalty grows, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty notes with concerns that the USA has reached a total of 1500 executions since 1977.

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.

Fifteen capital defense lawyers from eight African countries arrived at Cornell Law School on June 12 to begin eight days of training on how best to represent death penalty clients in the first session of the Makwanyane Institute.

Emotions are running high in Trinidad and Tobago because of “runaway crime,” and once again the country finds itself in the throes of looking for ways in which to resume hanging. The Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL) urges Trinidad and Tobago’s government to focus on human development and crime prevention rather than expend time and energy in seeking to resume hanging.

The African Congress will be held in Abidjan, Ivory Coast on 9-10 April 2018. Over 300 participants are expected.

As the world moves away from the death penalty, Iran continues to execute hundreds of people every year and comes second only to China in the number of executions carried out annually. Amnesty International recorded nearly 1,000 executions in Iran in 2015 and at least 567 in 2016.

On August 13, 2017, the Iranian parliament finally approved an amendment aiming at raising the bar for a mandatory death sentence in cases involving drug related offenses. Despite this first step, abolitionists deplore the limited effect of this new legislation.

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.

Since the fall of the Morsi regime in 2013, the use of the death penalty has increased considerably in Egypt with a death sentence rate estimated at 2443 people between 2013 and 2018 according to Reprieve.

Two more federal executions were carried out at the end of August in the United States of America. The abolitionist movement in the United States denounces human rights violations, challenges the cost of the death penalty in this time of crisis and even opposes its disrespect for tribal sovereignity.

On the occasion of the meeting of its Steering Committee on Friday 28 June and Saturday 29 June 2019, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has invited the director of Responsible Business Initiative Against the Death Penalty, Ms. Celia Ouellette, to present the involvement of companies against the capital punishment alongside with traditional activists.

Two World Coalition members, Avocats Sans Frontières France and the Paris Bar Association, held a conference on the death penalty in Nigeria in Paris on the 27th of November.

On Monday, 16 March 2015, the Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL) addressed the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on issues relating to the death penalty in the Greater Caribbean, during a dedicated thematic hearing held at the Organisation of American States (OAS) headquarters in Washington, D.C., USA.

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.

When it comes to the execution of death penalties, Saudi Arabia is one of the most prolific country in the world. This is what emerges from a new report published by Amnesty International in August 2015.

Twelve governments from countries with and without capital punishment release a joint declaration calling for a world that “respects human dignity” on World Day Against the Death Penalty.

Collaboration between World Coalition member organisations The Death Penalty Project and Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty follows acceleration of executions in the country.

Statement of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty on Soheil Arabi’s Death Sentence in Iran: Exercising freedom of expression is not a crime.