EU, Council of Europe Advocate Strong Abolition of Death Penalty

By Angel Ike

The European Union and Council of Europe have called for abolition of the Death Penalty, or its reintroduction in all cases and circumstances in the world.

They said death penalty is an inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, representing the ultimate denial of human dignity.

The Group explained that death penalty does not make societies safer, insisting that capital punishment makes miscarriages of justice irreversible.

The Joint statement by the High Representative of the European Union, Josep Borrell and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Alain Berset, on European and World Day Against the Death Penalty, on October 10, 2024, stated that the group is commitment to strengthening their cooperation to counter narratives promoting the reintroduction of the death penalty.

“We welcome the growing worldwide support for the abolition of the death penalty. More than two-thirds of all countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.

“Last year, the number of countries that carried out executions reached the lowest figure on record.

“Despite this trend towards abolition, the death penalty is still carried out in a number of countries. They said.

The Group noted that China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia and the United States of America are five countries with the highest number of executions in 2023.

According to reports, Iran alone accounted for 74% of all recorded executions.

They further expressed concern on the use of nitrogen hypoxia, a controversial method of execution, in the United States of America.

While noting that Belarus is the only country in the continent of Europe that still carries out the death penalty, they called on those few remaining States that still carry out death sentences to introduce a moratorium as a first step towards full abolition.

They said death penalty is a relic of the past which should have no place in the 21st century, calling for its urgent abolition.

“Proponents of the death penalty often base their argument on the notion that it deters crime. However, the evidence shows clearly that the death penalty has little or no effect on deterring or reducing crime.

“The Council of Europe and the EU are committed to strengthening their cooperation to counter narratives promoting the reintroduction of the death penalty, including in Europe, and to foster an open and democratic debate towards its full abolition in all parts of the world.

“We are determined to support all efforts to improve transparency around the use of the death penalty and to strengthen our engagement with young people and civil society.”