Towards the universal abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances
- Author(s):
- Parliamentary Assembly
- Origin
- Assembly
debate on 22 April 2026 (15th sitting) (see Doc. 16375 rev, report of the Committee on Legal Affairs and Human
Rights, rapporteur: Ms Gala Veldhoen). Text
adopted by the Assembly on 22 April 2026 (15th sitting).
1. The Parliamentary Assembly reaffirms
its opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and in
all places. The Assembly is proud of its decisive contribution to
making the geographical and legal space of the Council of Europe
a death penalty-free zone by having made the commitment to its abolition
a condition for accession to the Organisation. The Assembly strongly
deplores the fact that Belarus, a non-member State of the Council
of Europe, is the only country on the European continent that still
carries out executions.
2. The death penalty is fundamentally incompatible with human
dignity, the right to life and the prohibition of inhuman or degrading
treatment or punishment. This has been recognised since 2010 by
the European Court of Human Rights in its case law on Articles 2
and 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ETS No. 5, hereinafter
“the Convention”). Furthermore, all Council of Europe member States
have ratified Protocol No. 6 to the Convention (ETS No. 114, concerning
the abolition of the death penalty) and the Second Optional Protocol
to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, and all member
States except Azerbaijan have ratified Protocol No. 13 to the Convention
(ETS No. 187, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all
circumstances). The Assembly urges Azerbaijan to ratify this protocol
without further delay.
3. The Assembly will not accept any backsliding on the prohibition
of the death penalty in Europe. Reintroducing the death penalty
would purely and simply be incompatible with a State’s continuing
membership of the Council of Europe and would constitute a serious
violation of its obligations under Article 3 of the Statute of the
Council of Europe (ETS No. 1).
4. Recalling that the 2025 World Day against the Death Penalty
was dedicated to fighting the misconception that the death penalty
can make societies safer, the Assembly stresses that there is no
evidence that the death penalty deters crime more effectively than
lengthy prison sentences or that States that abolished the death
penalty have seen an increase in their crime rates. The death penalty
makes miscarriages of justice irreversible and disproportionately
affects persons belonging to vulnerable groups and minorities. Moreover,
it is often applied in an arbitrary and discriminatory manner, or
by using execution methods that are unnecessarily cruel or painful,
which may amount to torture or inhuman or degrading treatment themselves. Capital
punishment can also be a tool of internal political repression or
a means of diplomatic leverage through the use of foreign nationals
on death row as bargaining chips.
5. Over the years, the Assembly has called for the abolition
of the death penalty in Council of Europe observer States, as well
as in States whose parliaments enjoy the partner for democracy status
with the Assembly. It strongly deplores that executions continue
to be carried out in many States across the United States of America
and that 23 States still retain the death penalty. Some of these
States (Alabama, Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Oklahoma)
have introduced a new method of execution called “nitrogen hypoxia”, which
has been described as potentially amounting to torture. In 2025,
the State of South Carolina carried out the first executions by
firing squad in the United States in fifteen years. The death penalty
has been restored at the federal level under President Trump. In
Japan, an execution was carried out in June 2025, after a pause of
almost three years. Executions are carried out by hanging, with
very short or no prior notice to death row prisoners and their families.
The Assembly welcomes the retrial and acquittal by Japanese courts
of Iwao Hakamada, 88 years old, who spent more than forty-five years
on death row and was known as the longest serving death row prisoner
in the world. His case has highlighted concerns about wrongful convictions
resulting in death sentences.
6. The Assembly observes that the countries whose parliaments
have the partner for democracy status with the Assembly are not
carrying out executions. They either have a de
facto moratorium on executions (Morocco) or have not
enforced death sentences for a number of years (Jordan, Palestine
(West Bank)). However, courts in Jordan and Morocco continue to
hand down death sentences. The Assembly believes that these partners
for democracy should work towards the abolition of the death penalty
in law, including by promoting and leading a public debate with
all relevant stakeholders, in line with the expectations expressed by
the Assembly when the status was conferred. However, the Assembly
welcomes the positive steps recently taken by Morocco towards the
abolition of the death penalty. Morocco voted, for the first time,
in favour of Resolution A/RES/79/179 of the United Nations General
Assembly calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty
(2024), which has been perceived in Morocco as a sort of recognition
of the moratorium in place. The Assembly welcomes the recent decision
of the Kyrgyz Constitutional Court confirming that the reintroduction
of the death penalty through referendum would be incompatible with
the express constitutional prohibition of capital punishment since
2007, as well as with the country’s international human rights obligations.
This is an inspiring example of how the judiciary can contribute
to upholding the abolition of the death penalty on the basis of
international human rights law. The Assembly also welcomes Kazakhstan’s decision
to abolish the death penalty in law in 2021.
7. The Assembly condemns the fact that death sentences continue
to be regularly imposed and executed in Belarus, where actual figures
are not publicly known. The Assembly is particularly concerned about
the secrecy surrounding executions, including the failure to notify
prisoners and their families in advance, the non-return of bodies
and the persistent allegations that trials do not meet the most
basic international standards of fairness. Furthermore, the scope
of application of the death penalty has been widened to include
offences that do not meet the “most serious crimes” threshold established
under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
to which Belarus is a party. Against this backdrop, the Assembly
welcomes the adoption of a memorandum on the abolition of the death
penalty in Belarus by the Co-ordination Council in June 2025, endorsed
by the United Transitional Cabinet and the Office of Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya.
This must be seen as a clear commitment to abolition in the context
of a future democratic Belarus.
8. The Assembly notes that the death penalty has not been applied
in Israel since 1962 and that the country has voted in favour of
United Nations General Assembly resolutions calling for a moratorium
on the use of the death penalty since 2007. The Assembly condemns
the adoption of legislation by the Knesset on 30 March 2026, which
extends the use of the death penalty to “murderous terrorist attacks”.
The new law introduces default death sentences by military courts
for West Bank residents, excluding Israeli residents or citizens,
with a simple majority of the judicial panel needed for conviction.
It prohibits the reduction, commutation or pardon of the death sentence.
Within the civil courts system in Israel, the law allows for the
imposition of the death penalty for “terrorist murders carried out
with the intent of negating the existence of the State of Israel”.
This has clear discriminatory effects for Palestinians. In both
cases, the method of execution will be hanging and execution procedures
will be characterised by secrecy and a lack of safeguards. The Assembly
also notes that the law is currently being challenged before the
Supreme Court of Israel. The adoption of this law represents a clear
setback in Israel’s long-standing stance on the use of the death
penalty, thus distancing the country from the growing international
consensus in favour of abolition. This legislation is incompatible
with the values of the Council of Europe, reflected in Protocols
No. 6 and No. 13 to the European Convention of Human Rights, and
is in violation of Israel’s obligations under the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
9. The Assembly welcomes the global trend towards limiting and
abolishing the death penalty, as shown by the fact that more than
two thirds of the world’s countries no longer execute prisoners,
either because they abolished capital punishment in law for all
crimes or because they have a moratorium on executions. This encouraging
trend is also reflected in the record number of 130 States that
voted in favour of the 10th United Nations General Assembly resolution
calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty (A/RES/79/179) in
2024, as well as in the increasing number of States Parties to the
Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil
and Political Rights, which has risen from 60 in 2007, as mentioned
in Assembly
Resolution 1560 (2007) “Promotion
by Council of Europe member states of an international moratorium
on the death penalty”, to 92 today. At the same time, the Assembly
is alarmed by the increase in executions in 2024 and 2025, which
is due to the fact that a shrinking group of retentionist countries
are increasing their number of executions, including for offences
not involving intentional killing. The five States that carried
out the most executions in the world in 2024 were reportedly China,
Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Yemen. In Iran alone, at least 1 500
individuals were reportedly executed in 2025.
10. The Assembly acknowledges the crucial role of the judiciary
in limiting the use of the death penalty in numerous countries.
National courts often have the power to exercise judicial discretion
when sentencing, to overturn or commute death sentences and to establish
legal precedents in favour of moratoriums on executions or partial
abolition. Some of their decisions have paved the way for full de jure abolition. Courts in abolitionist countries
can also ensure that individuals are not extradited to countries
where they are at risk of being sentenced to death, following the
example of the case law of the European Court of Human Rights.
11. The Assembly further emphasises the importance of involving
young people in the abolitionist movement worldwide. It therefore
encourages the pursuit of initiatives and programmes of the Council
of Europe and its member States involving young people, including
from Belarus and Morocco, as well as the network of young ambassadors
that is being set up. Member States must counter narratives that
support the death penalty, and which may be gaining traction among
younger generations in Europe, by raising awareness about the death penalty’s
inherent cruelty and ineffectiveness.
12. The Council of Europe and the Assembly should contribute to
the upcoming 9th World Congress against the Death Penalty, to be
held in Paris in June 2026, including by sharing their experience
of progressively making Europe a death penalty-free continent, as
well as their expertise on the role of the judiciary and young people.
13. In the light of these considerations, the Assembly:
13.1 calls on the United States of
America to:
13.1.1 introduce without delay a moratorium
on executions at both federal and State levels, and take the necessary
steps towards the abolition of the death penalty in law at all levels,
including by initiating an open and inclusive public debate on this
issue;
13.1.2 commute all existing death sentences to prison terms;
13.1.3 in the meantime, ensure that the conditions of detention
on death row comply with the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment, and immediately stop using
execution methods such as nitrogen hypoxia, firing squad and electrocution;
13.2 calls on Japan to:
13.2.1 introduce an immediate
moratorium on executions, and take the necessary steps towards the
abolition of the death penalty in law, including by initiating an
open and inclusive public debate on this issue;
13.2.2 commute all existing death sentences to prison terms;
13.2.3 in the meantime, ensure that the conditions of detention
on death row comply with the prohibition of torture or cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment, and stop the practice of executions
shrouded in secrecy with little or no prior warning to prisoners,
their families and lawyers;
13.3 calls on the Belarusian regime to:
13.3.1 introduce
without delay a moratorium on the imposition and execution of the
death penalty, as a first step towards the abolition of the death
penalty in law;
13.3.2 commute all existing death sentences to prison terms;
13.3.3 in the meantime, end the secrecy of practices surrounding
the death penalty, guaranteeing at a minimum prior notification
of execution to prisoners, their families and lawyers, as well as
the return of the bodies;
13.4 strongly urges Israel to repeal or invalidate the new
law that expands the use of the death penalty in a discriminatory
manner without further delay, and to refrain from implementing it
in the meantime, in accordance with its obligations under the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and notes that, in this
context, the compatibility of Israel’s actions with the requirements
attached to its observer status should be kept under careful review;
13.5 requests that the European Commission for Democracy through
Law (Venice Commission) issue an opinion on the compatibility of
the law adopted by the Israeli Knesset on 30 March 2026 with the norms
promoted by the European Convention on Human Rights and the constitutional
standards of Council of Europe member States in the field of human
rights, in particular the principle of non-discrimination, the right
to life and the right to a fair trial;
13.6 encourages the Parliament and the authorities of Morocco
to:
13.6.1 take the necessary steps to transform its long-standing de facto moratorium on executions
into an abolition of the death penalty in law, following Morocco’s
vote in favour of United Nations General Assembly Resolution AS/RES/79/179
calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, for the
first time in 2024;
13.6.2 commute all existing death sentences to prison terms;
13.6.3 pending abolition, declare a de
jure moratorium on the imposition and execution of the death
penalty and/or reduce the number of offences punishable by death
in the Criminal Code;
13.7 encourages the Parliaments of Jordan and Palestine to
work towards abolishing the death penalty in law, bearing in mind
the absence of executions in both countries for a number of years
and the expectations expressed when they were granted partnership
for democracy status;
13.8 echoes the condemnation by the President of the Palestinian
Authority of field executions carried out by Hamas in Gaza, and
urges all entities exercising control over the territory of Gaza
to ensure that executions are halted;
13.9 invites all Council of Europe member States and Canada
and Mexico, as observer States, to:
13.9.1 raise, in their
bilateral relations with retentionist countries that still carry
out executions, the need for immediate steps towards moratoriums
and abolition, and ensure that co-operation in criminal matters
and justice with these countries is consistent with this objective
and that the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is fully respected
with regard to detained foreign nationals;
13.9.2 advocate for the universal abolition of the death penalty
in multilateral forums, in particular the United Nations General
Assembly and the United Nations Human Rights Council, as well as
in regional organisations, such as the European Union, and interparliamentary organisations;
13.9.3 involve their national parliaments in the fight against
the death penalty worldwide, including through regular debates and
public hearings on capital punishment, involving civil society and
victims’ representatives, and through participation in interparliamentary
forums;
13.9.4 raise public awareness about the death penalty’s inherent
cruelty, ineffectiveness and incompatibility with basic human rights,
particularly among young people;
13.9.5 support initiatives aimed at strengthening the role of
the judiciary in retentionist countries in limiting the scope of
the death penalty, including training for judges, prosecutors, lawyers
and law-enforcement officials on international human rights standards
relevant to capital punishment;
13.9.6 monitor the situation of their nationals who are on death
row in retentionist countries, taking all possible diplomatic measures
to ensure that their fundamental rights are respected, particularly
the right to a fair trial and the prohibition of torture and other
cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, and actively seeking to have
their death sentences commuted;
13.9.7 implement Committee of Ministers Recommendation CM/Rec(2021)2
on measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty,
torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment;
13.10 invites the European Union, through its external action,
to systematically raise the issue of the abolition of the death
penalty in its dialogue with third countries that still impose capital
punishment, or with countries that have expanded its scope, such
as Israel;
13.11 resolves to promote dialogue with parliamentarians from
the United States, Japan, Morocco, Jordan and Palestine, in order
to support all efforts to institute moratoriums on executions and
abolish the death penalty. The Council of Europe could offer technical
assistance to any States seeking to abolish the death penalty;
13.12 invites all its members to raise the issue of the universal
abolition of the death penalty in their own national parliaments,
through oral and written questions to their governments and in their
parliamentary committees on foreign affairs.
