Honouring of the commitment entered into by Ukraine upon accession to the Council of Europe to put into place a moratorium on executions of the death penalty
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly debate on 29 January 1997 (5th Sitting) (see Doc. 7745, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human Rights, rapporteur: Mrs Wohlwend). Text adopted by the Assembly on 29 January 1997 (5th Sitting).
- Thesaurus
1. The Assembly has received official information that, in the first half of 1996, eighty-nine executions were carried out in Ukraine. It regrets that the Ukrainian authorities have failed to inform it of the number of executions carried out in the second half of the year.
2. The Assembly is particularly shocked by the information that executions in Ukraine are shrouded in secrecy, with apparently not even the families of the prisoners being informed, and that the executed are reportedly buried in unmarked graves.
3. Ukraine entered into a solemn commitment, upon accession to the Council of Europe, to put into place a moratorium on executions with effect from the day of accession. The executions which have taken place in Ukraine in 1996 thus constitute a flagrant violation of her commitments and obligations.
4. The Assembly welcomes and supports all efforts in the country, especially in the Supreme Rada where a draft law on the abolition of the death penalty has been introduced, and in the Ministry of Justice, to institute a moratorium on executions, to limit the scope of capital punishment and to abolish the death penalty.
5. However, the Assembly must condemn Ukraine for having violated her commitment to put into place a moratorium on executions, and deplores the executions that have taken place. It demands that Ukraine immediately honour her commitments and halt any executions still pending.
6. The Assembly warns the Ukrainian authorities that it will take all necessary steps to ensure compliance with commitments entered into. In particular, should any more executions of the death penalty be carried out following the adoption of this resolution, the Assembly may consider the non-ratification of the credentials of the Ukrainian parliamentary delegation at its next session.
7. The Assembly may also, at its next part session, consider what action could be envisaged by the Committee of Ministers to ensure that the moratorium on executions will be put into place with immediate effect.
