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Summary: The third Committee of the General Assembly (GA) today approved a draft resolution that would have the GA express its deep concern about the continued application of the death penalty and call on States to establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the practice.
The draft text, approved by a recorded vote of 110 in favour to 39 against, with 36 abstaining, would have the Assembly call on States to respect international standards that provided safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of persons facing the death penalty, as set out in the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 (1984). By other terms, the Assembly would call on States to progressively restrict the death penalty’s use and not impose capital punishment for offences committed by persons under age 18 or pregnant women. States also would be called on to reduce the number of offences for which the death penalty might be imposed. For his part, the Secretary-General would be requested to report to the Assembly’s sixty-ninth session on the implementation of the present resolution. Passage of the draft followed votes on five draft amendments, which aimed to inject into the text positions taken during weeks of intense consultations on the death penalty, and all of which failed to achieve the requisite majority for approval by the Committee. Introducing the text, Croatia’s delegate said the co-sponsors had made a number of compromises based on proposals put forward during informal consultations. She was disappointed to see so many amendments, as it undermined the spirit and purpose of the draft resolution. In the spirit of bridging the gap between those favouring a moratorium and those applying the death penalty, the 2010 text had been redrafted to reflect prevailing trends on the issue. The revised draft was a “balanced” text inviting States to pursue debate on the topic. In a general statement before action, Egypt’s delegate said the draft resolution dealt with the use of the death penalty, not its application in accordance with national legislation, implying that it was being used by States to pursue political objectives, rather than maintain order. It called for a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, in complete disregard of the principle of non-interference. Moreover, it disregarded the fact that, in some cases, national debates and referenda reflecting peoples’ will had resulted in reintroducing the death penalty, he said. It ignored the great diversity of legal, social and other conditions around the world. He wondered how consistent that was with the international legal framework. The five amendments - introduced by the representatives of Egypt, Singapore, Antigua and Barbuda, Trinidad and Tobago and Botswana - aimed to reaffirm the principle of State sovereignty, especially in the decision to retain, abolish or reinstate the death penalty, address language concerns, and draw attention to State obligations under international human rights instruments. Against that backdrop, the amendment proposed by Egypt was rejected by a recorded vote of 84 against to 63 in favour, with 29 abstentions. Singapore’s amendment was rejected by a recorded vote of 83 against to 61 in favour, with 31 abstentions. The amendment proposed by Antigua and Barbuda was rejected by a recorded vote of 80 against to 54 in favour, with 37 abstentions. Trinidad and Tobago’s amendment was rejected by a recorded vote of 86 against to 53 in favour, with 65 abstentions. The amendment proposed by Botswana was rejected by a recorded vote of 85 against to 55 in favour, with 35 abstentions. During action on the draft resolution on the moratorium on the use of the death penalty, as well as the five amendments, statements were made by the representatives of Egypt, Grenada, China, Argentina, Singapore, Pakistan, Gabon, Cyprus, Albania, India, Brazil, Switzerland, Botswana, New Zealand, Mexico, The Federated States of Micronesia, Croatia, Papua New Guinea, Syria, Viet Nam, Sudan, Malaysia, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Suriname, Japan, Morocco, Cuba and United States.
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