09/10/2024 Legal Affairs and Human Rights
On the eve of the 22nd World Day against the Death Penalty (10 October), PACE General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty, Gala Veldhoen (Netherlands, SOC), made the following statement:
“This year’s theme, ‘The death penalty protects no one,’ is a timely reminder of the persistent misconception that capital punishment makes society safer. It does not. There is no evidence of its deterrent value. Instead, the death penalty creates a breeding ground for human rights abuses under the guise of security. It violates human dignity and disproportionately impacts marginalised groups.
Since the last World Day against the Death Penalty, there have been some positive developments. Armenia completed the ratification of Protocol No.13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which prohibits the death penalty in all circumstances. The number of countries in the world that carried out executions decreased in 2023 (16 compared to 20 in 2022). Some countries, particularly in Africa, continue to take legislative steps to reduce its scope or repeal it. This trend confirms the ever-increasing isolation of retentionist countries.
I welcome the recent acquittal of Iwao Hakamada after almost half a century on death row in Japan, following his retrial and the finding that evidence for his conviction had been fabricated. He was the world’s longest-serving death row inmate. His case shows how death sentences may also result from miscarriages of justice and serious violations of the right to a fair trial and should encourage Japan to have a public and transparent debate on the death penalty.
Unfortunately, we must confront the deeply concerning trends in certain countries. In 2023, at least 1,153 executions were recorded worldwide – a 31 per cent increase from 2022 – making it the highest figure in seven years. Iran continues to impose the death penalty for offences that do not meet the ‘most serious crimes’ threshold under international law, including drug-related offences and cases of consensual sexual relations outside of marriage. China remains the world’s leading executioner, though the exact figures remain shrouded in secrecy, as do those in North Korea and Vietnam.
I am also deeply troubled by the situation in the United States, an observer state of the Council of Europe. The United States not only saw an increase in executions in 2023 – reaching 24, the highest since 2018. In January 2024, Alabama introduced the use of nitrogen hypoxia, a highly controversial method of execution, and became the first state to execute an individual using this method, which the state authorities claimed to be ‘the most painless’. However, the execution of Kenneth Smith exposed the harsh reality of this technique, as witnesses reported seeing him convulse and struggle for several minutes before losing consciousness. The United Nations and other international bodies have raised serious concerns that this method could amount to torture or cruel and inhuman treatment, yet several U.S. states have now authorised its use and Alabama carried out a second execution using this method last month.
I am also concerned about the situation in Belarus, where the authorities still rely on the death penalty, including for additional offences. The recent death sentence given to a German citizen last June, though later pardoned, is to be deplored.
The abolition of the death penalty is not just a legal imperative, it is a moral one. The capital punishment should have no place in any modern justice system. It breaches human rights, in particular the right to life and the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. I call on all member and observer states, as well as those having a partnership status with the Assembly, to fight in favour of its abolition in all parts of the world and against any narratives justifying its use in the name of security.”