Submitted by crinadmin on
Summary: In this statement, Patrizia Scannella from
Amnesty International addresses the death
penalty and counter-terrorism.
Mr. Chair,
In this statement, Amnesty International will address the death penalty
and counter-terrorism.
Five countries having abolished the death penalty in 2004; the steady
progress towards universal abolition is undeniable.
Yet executions persist. Amnesty International found that in 2004 at least
3,797 people were executed in 25 countries and at least 7,395 were
sentenced to death in 64 countries. The true totals were certainly higher.
Most of the persons executed did not receive fair trials.
With capital punishment's evident cruelty, its arbitrariness, and the
inherent risk of executing the innocent, the application of the death
penalty should be suspended immediately pending its abolition in law.
Amnesty International calls on the Commission on Human Rights to renew
its call for a universal moratorium on executions and on countries that
retain the death penalty to heed the call.
Governments have a special duty to protect the most vulnerable members
of society. Despite the now universal acceptance that the death penalty
shall not be imposed on offenders under age 18, child offenders were
reportedly executed last year in China and Iran, and remain under
sentence of death in several other countries. The Commission should insist
that retentionist states take all necessary measures to ensure that child
offenders are not executed. Amnesty International urges this Commission
to confirm that the use of the death penalty against child offenders is
contrary to customary international law.
A valuable step to secure the abolition of the death penalty is to enshrine
abolition in the constitution. In a study released last week, Amnesty
International reported that 42 countries have now adopted constitutional
provisions prohibiting the death penalty. The Commission should
encourage other countries to do so.
Abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human
dignity and the progressive development of human rights. Most of the
existing constitutional prohibitions of the death penalty are based on
human rights considerations. Amnesty International calls on the
Commission to clearly condemn the death penalty as a violation of
fundamental human rights - the right to life and the right not to be
subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
Mr. Chairman,
Amnesty International welcomes the report of the Independent Expert
mandated to study ways and means of strengthening the promotion and
protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering
terrorism. However, as the Independent Expert notes in the introduction,
there are many issues that the report does not address, notably the effect
of counter-terrorism measures on economic, social and cultural rights.
Over the past year, Amnesty International has continued to observe the
negative impact on human rights of legislation and measures introduced by
states to counter terrorism in a range of countries. Amnesty International
strongly supports the recommendations by the Independent Expert to
create a new special procedure with a multi-dimensional mandate, and
urges the Commission to give effect to those recommendations. We also
look forward to the appointment of a Special Rapporteur with the
demonstrated ability to fulfil the mandate.
Thank you, Mr. Chair.