The Committee of Ministers calls on member states to remain firm in their commitment to oppose the death penalty
On the occasion of the European and World Day Against the Death Penaltythe Committee of Ministers reaffirms its unequivocal opposition to the death penalty. It also reiterates the Council of Europe’s objective of create a death penalty-free zone in Europe and beyond and to continue its fight against its reinstatement and in favor of its universal abolition, in accordance with the Reykjavík Declaration adopted by heads of state and government in May 2023.
The Committee of Ministers welcomes the theme of the World Day “The death penalty protects no one”, dedicated to combating the erroneous conception according to which the death penalty can make societies safer, and recalls that it There is no conclusive evidence of the deterrent value of the death penalty.
In a series of decisions, adopted following a thematic exchange of views on the abolition of the death penalty devoted to the situation in Belarus, the Committee of Ministers deplores the fact that Belarus has resorted to offenses punishable by the death penalty, added recently to its penal code, to sentence to death and once again calls on the authorities to stop all executions and to apply the alternative penalties provided for in the criminal legislation of Belarus.
The Committee of Ministers also welcomes the position taken by the leader of the Belarusian democratic forces in favor of abolition and encourages the activities planned within the framework of the Contact Group between the Council of Europe and the Belarusian democratic forces and civil society to promote the abolition of the death penalty among the population, particularly young people.
Furthermore, the Committee of Ministers regrets that executions will continue in 2024 in the United States, which reached 1,600 on September 26e execution since 1976. He once again calls on the authorities of the United States and Japan, observer states, to promote an open and democratic debate with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
