Urges EU
Terming death penalty “cruel and inhuman,” the European Union (EU) urged the countries to stop use of the capital punishment.
“The European Union considers death penalty to be a cruel and inhuman punishment, which represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and integrity,” says a press release of EU Delegation to Bangladesh yesterday marking the World and European Day against Death Penalty observed on Sunday.
It says despite a marked trend towards abolition and restriction of the use of capital punishment in most countries, numbers and manner of death penalty application worldwide remain alarming.
While 139 countries – more than 2/3 of the countries of the world – are abolitionist in law or practice, still at least 5,679 executions were carried out last year, it adds.
Where capital punishment remains in force, the EU said there are serious problems in using international norms and standards, notably in the limitation of the death penalty to the most serious crimes, the exclusion of juvenile offenders from its scope, and guarantees of a fair trial.
Actively supported by states from all regions of the world, the EU uses all available means diplomatic channels and raising public awareness – in working towards the goal of abolishing the death penalty. The EU also acts against the death penalty in multilateral fora, such as the United Nations, says the release.
Global abolition of the death penalty is one of the main objectives of the EU’s human rights policy. The 58 countries/territories retaining death penalty are invited to abolish death penalty, or at least introduce a moratorium as a first step, it says.
