14/04/2008 Political Affairs and Democracy
Open letter to Vadim Popov, Chairman of the House of Representatives of the Republic of Belarus, and to Gennadi Novitski, Chairman of the Council of the Republic of the National Assembly of the Republic of Belarus, calling for a moratorium on capital executions in Belarus
by Andrea Rigoni, PACE Rapporteur on the Situation in
Dear Chairmen,
I was in on an official mission for the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in October 2007. Amongst the numerous issues that I touched upon during my visit, including in the meetings that I had with you and other members of parliament, there was one which I raised as a matter of deep concern, the fact that is the only country in which still retains the death penalty. In this regard, I stated that, although complete abolition should be the final objective, a moratorium on capital executions could be a valuable intermediate measure, in accordance, at that time, with an Italian proposal for a Resolution of the General Assembly of the United Nations calling for a universal moratorium.
Since my visit to , the Italian proposal has become a Resolution of the UN General Assembly on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, which was adopted, regrettably, with the opposition of ; furthermore, even more regrettably, four capital executions have since taken place in this country.
Every capital execution is one too many. However hideous the crime which has been committed, however indisputable the evidence of guilt, nothing justifies assassination by the State.
I am proud to say that, in 1786, the region that I come from in , , was the first political entity in the world to abolish the death penalty. The reasons behind this decision were that capital punishment is immoral; it does not allow for the rehabilitation of the offender in society; it does not redress the damage which has been caused; it does not dissuade people from committing similar crimes as it is the certainty that a penalty will be applied which dissuades and not its gravity; it is irreversible, and cannot be corrected in case of judicial errors.
These were the reasons that prompted abolition more than two hundred years ago. These are the reasons that should prompt it now.
As a European, I am proud to say that nobody can be executed in the space of the Council of Europe: out of 47 member states, 46 have abolished it, while one, the , although not having deleted it from its criminal code, has a moratorium in place on the enforcement of death sentences.
The Council of Europe has greatly contributed to this achievement, amongst others through the elaboration of two Protocols to the European Convention on Human Rights which imposes on the state parties the abolition of the death penalty (Protocol 6 and Protocol 13). In addition to standard-setting, the Council of Europe and PACE have consistently promoted the abolition of the death penalty as a universal value through their wide range of projects and activities in support of human rights and humanitarian values in general, in and in their relations with non member States of the Council of Europe.
It is, therefore, a source of satisfaction that, between 1977 and 2006, the number of abolitionist countries in the world has risen from 16 to 89. This number increases to 135 when including those states which have not carried out any executions for the past ten years or more and which can, therefore, be considered as abolitionist in practice.
In 1996, the Belarusian citizens pronounced themselves in favour of capital punishment in a national referendum. While recognising the right to life, the Constitution of the , adopted in the same year as the referendum, provides that, until its abolition, the death penalty may be applied in accordance with the law as an exceptional penalty for particularly serious crimes, the number of which was subsequently restricted to 14 by the Criminal Code.
In the years 2002-2004, also in response to pressure by international organisations, including PACE and innumerable non-governmental organisations, a debate was initiated in the Belarusian political spheres, including its National Assembly, over the advisability of introducing a moratorium on capital executions. In 2004, the Constitutional Court of Belarus conducted an evaluation of the compliance with the Constitution of the provisions on the death penalty laid down in the Criminal Code, following a request from the National Assembly itself. In its opinion, the Court concluded that a number of provisions of the Criminal Code were at variance with the Constitution and suggested either the abolition of the death penalty or the introduction of a moratorium on executions as the first step towards full abolition. The Court also recalled that such measures may be enacted by the Head of State and the National Assembly. Since then, there has been no further progress.
Dear Chairmen,
Popular will should be the basis of every decision but there are some issues on which the authorities of a country should assume the responsibility to lead the way. I call on you and the Institution over which you preside to lead the way towards the introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty in , as an intermediate step towards its complete abolition. I call on you to lead this battle with the greatest resolve, knowing that this process will require not only legislative initiative, not only a reform of the penitentiary system, not only a change of attitude from the part of judges and legal professionals but also raising the awareness of the Belarusian citizens through an open, comprehensive and inclusive debate.
Other countries have preceded along this path: I have already mentioned all the 47 member states of the Council of Europe but also all the other States of the former Soviet Union which are not Council of Europe members: , , , and, only last month, . Recent news from Japan, an observer state that the Council of Europe has often criticised for retaining the death penalty, indicate that a cross-party group of parliamentarians has initiated a proposal for a four-year moratorium on capital executions.
The death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights. It violates the standards and values of the Council of Europe. I ask you and the National Assembly of Belarus to make it a political undertaking that nobody will be executed in any more.