The 51st session of the Human Rights Council concluded in Geneva (12 September – 7 October), during which the Secretary General presented his report (A/HRC/51/7) to update previous reports on the question of the death penalty, including the quinquennial report of the Secretary-General. The report covers the most significant developments relating to the capital punishment worldwide within period July 2020–June 2022. PGA co-sponsored the statements delivered by FIACAT and EPCM at the General Debate.
Furthermore, the 77th session of the UN General Assembly opened on 13 September and will run until December 2022. On this occasion, the Secretary General will present his report on the implementation of the resolution 75/183 on a “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”. A new resolution on this matter will be tabled and proposed for adoption later this year.
Positive Developments
Malaysia: The Government takes a valiant step in tabling amendments to abolish the mandatory death penalty (6 October)
Malaysia: Government pledges to abolish the death penalty (10 June)
Central African Republic: Central African Republic Abolishes the Death Penalty (27 June)
Ghana: Bill laid before Ghanaian Parliament to abolish death penalty for ordinary offences (26 July)
Equatorial Guinea: Equatorial Guinea abolishes the death penalty (20 September)
Setbacks
Iran: Concerns about death sentences in Iran against LGBTQI+ rights defenders (7 September)
Gaza: Condemnation of executions carried out in Gaza (5 September)
Donetsk: Three individuals face death penalty, as Donetsk court charge foreigners as ‘mercenaries’ (16 August)
Singapore: Condemnation of the series of execution in Singapore – UN experts call for immediate moratorium on executions for drug offences (29 July)
Japan: First execution of the year in Japan in Japan, a ‘callous’ attack on the right to life (26 July)
Myanmar: Politically motivated executions by the Myanmar military junta (25 July)
New Reports and Resources
50th Human Rights Council: Abolition of the death penalty at the 50th Session of the UN Human Rights Council (13 June – 8 July)
77th UN General Assembly: Call for inputs – Secretary-General’s report on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty (12 July)
Transformative Justice Collective Report on Singapore: Life and death decisions, made without legal advice: how the death penalty for drugs is stacked against the accused in Singapore (2 August)
77th UN General Assembly, High-Level side event on the death penalty: “Pathways to moratorium on the use of the death penalty: effective and good practices from Member States”, keynote speech by Acting UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Ms. Nada Al-Nashif (23 September)
For more information or to explore how you can get involved in PGA’s Campaign for the Abolition of the Death Penalty (ADP), please contact:
Ms. Frederika Schweighoferova (The Hague)
Senior Legal Officer, Campaign to Abolish the Death Penalty
Director, Rome Statute system Campaign
International Law and Human Rights Program