Debate article
Göteborgsposten 10 October 2008
Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs

"European Day against the Death Penalty" 10th October

Today, the European Day against the Death Penalty, we join forces in speaking out against what constitutes the ultimate, irreversible denial of human rights, and a cruel and inhuman punishment that does not belong to modern times. We cannot remain silent when thousands of persons are still being executed or sentenced to death every year. We cannot remain silent when we see footage from public group hangings in Iran, read about the beheading of a juvenile offender in Saudi Arabia, or the execution in Texas of a man who was mentally disabled.

We are very concerned by the large number of executions in China and the marked increase in the number of executions in Japan. We are deeply disappointed when we see a country like Liberia reintroducing the death penalty and we urge Belarus to join the european consensus against the use of the capital punishment.

The death penalty violates the very fundament of human rights, including the right to life. It is the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, that often entails excruciating suffering. It is irrevocable, and mistakes are irreparable. All judicial systems make mistakes, and as long as the death penalty persists, innocent people will be executed. The death penalty is a symptom of and encourages a culture of violence. It is not a solution to it, as is often claimed, and it does not deter from crime more than other punishments. The death penalty quite simply has no place in a modern criminal justice system.

Europe is at the forefront of efforts to abolish the death penalty. That has of course not always been the case. In medieval and early modern Europe, before the development of modern prison systems, death penalty was used as a punishment for a wide range of crimes. With the emergence of nation states and the idea of citizens, however, justice became increasingly associated with equality, universality and dignity. Today it is a requirement for membership in the EU and an issue on which Council of Europe member states have also been able to take a firm joint position. As a result, no execution has taken place on the territory of the organization's member states since 1997.

The good news is that there is a consistent trend towards abolition of the death penalty, as emphasized in the last Secretary-General's report. Progress has been dramatic in last few decades, and today more than 2/3 of all states have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. Since the 3rd World Congress against the death penaty that took place in Paris in February 2007, Albania, Cook Island, Rwanda, Uzbekistan and Argentina have abolished capital punishment. The use of the death penalty is also becoming increasingly restrained in retensionist countries. This global trend is supported by the various international tribunals, including the ICC, which, although dealing with the most heinous crimes, have no power to impose the death penalty.

There is, however, no room for complacency. The European Union, as well as the Council of Europe, have intensified their efforts against the death penalty in international fora such as the UN, where last year the General Assembly, in a historic vote, with cross-regional support, adopted a resolution calling for a moratorium on the executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. This year the General Assembly will follow-up on that initiative, through the recommendations of the Secretary-General. It is also an issue which the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe will highlight at the United Nations in the framework of the Cooperation between the United Nations and the Council of Europe.

Today on the European Day against the Death Penalty, we call upon governments of all countries who still retain the death penalty to show political courage and strive towards the abolition of the death penalty under all circumstances. As a first step we call on governments to introduce a moratorium with immediate effect. We also stress the courageous and crucial role played by human rights defenders in the struggle to abolish this heinous human right violation and we encourage civil society to remain active. Together we must support the deep-rooted trend to universal abolition. Together we can make a difference.

Bernard Kouchner, French Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
Car Bildt, Swedish Minister of Foreign Affairs