Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
I make this statement on behalf of Andorra, Canada, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, San Marino, the United Kingdom, and my home country of Switzerland.
Nine days ago, we celebrated the 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty, commemorating our collective efforts and recent achievements and progress in the fight against the death penalty.
We welcome the continuing trend towards universal abolition of the death penalty. Currently, 113 countries around the world have completely abolished the death penalty, and more than two-thirds of the world’s countries have abolished the death penalty in law or de facto. We are pleased that one more state, Ghana, has joined the abolitionist movement this year and now encourage Ghana to join in signing the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. are doing. Furthermore, we welcome the Armenian National Assembly’s recent decision to ratify Protocol No. 13 of the European Convention on Human Rights, which provides for the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances, including in times of war or under the imminent threat of war. .
At the same time, two OSCE countries, Belarus and the United States, continue to use the death penalty. Despite repeated calls to abolish the death penalty, Belarus remains the only country in Europe and Central Asia that still practices it. Additionally, the use of the death penalty has been extended twice in the past two years, contrary to the country’s international obligations. We deeply regret the recent expansion of the use of the death penalty and call on Belarus to reverse this trend and abolish the death penalty as soon as possible.
Mr. Chairman,
We firmly oppose the use of the death penalty at any time and under any circumstances. The death penalty is inconsistent with human rights, including the right to life. Although the evidence is clear, this criminal law does not help prevent crime, violence, or violent extremism because it has not been proven to be a greater deterrent to potential criminals than other harsh penalties.
We call on all States within and outside the OSCE to join the global movement against the death penalty and, in the meantime, establish a formal moratorium on executions. We also encourage all States to support the resolution on the death penalty negotiated at the 54th session of the Human Rights Council.
In addition to national action, we call on civil society, political leaders, NGOs, lawyers, local representatives, parliamentarians, journalists, religious leaders, and the public to take action against the death penalty on October 10 and every day. I encourage you to wake up. The Warsaw Human Dimensions Conference once again demonstrated the important contribution of civil society actors in the movement for the universal abolition of the death penalty. Their efforts have been critical to the progress we have made.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.