On World Drug Day (June 26), Parliamentarians for Global Action joined 69 civil society organizations in calling for an end to executions for drug-related crimes. This urgent appeal comes as new data reveals a troubling increase in the use of capital punishment worldwide. Today, at least 34 countries continue to impose the death penalty for drug offences, often for non-violent crimes like trafficking or cultivation.
This practice violates international law, which restricts capital punishment to “the most serious crimes” – defined as crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing. As underlined in the joint statement, there is an urgent need to oppose cruel and punitive measures, but also to advance a human-rights based approach to drug policy.
Recent figures from Amnesty International’s report on death sentences and executions in 2024, paint a stark picture:
- Recorded executions rose by 32% compared to the previous year, with at least 1,518 individuals executed across just 15 countries. Actual numbers are likely even higher, as statistics from China, North Korea, and Viet Nam are unavailable.
- The vast majority of these executions (91%) occurred in Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Iraq.
- Alarmingly, 42% of all executions were for drug-related offences, in clear breach of international standards.
These statistics highlight the need for immediate action on two fronts. First, the international community must continue opposing the death penalty in all circumstances. Second, countries need support in adopting concrete reforms that align their domestic laws with international human rights standards, particularly by narrowing the scope of capital punishment.
Despite these challenges, encouraging trends are emerging. The number of executing countries remains at a record low, with only 54 countries still using capital punishment. This global shift toward abolition is particularly visible in Africa, where 28 African Union member states have now abolished the death penalty in law.
Parliamentarians for Global Action’s recent efforts in Malawi demonstrate how parliamentary leadership can drive change. On April 9, we co-organized a virtual roundtable to advance abolition in Malawi, where the death penalty remains legal despite no executions since 1992. The event brought together parliamentarians from Malawi, Ghana, and Zimbabwe – two countries where lawmakers have been instrumental in driving driven legislative reform – alongside civil society partners.
Hon. Yusuf Nthenda, a Malawi MP and PGA member, has championed a private member’s bill to remove all references to the death penalty from the country’s legislation. With general elections scheduled for September 2025, Malawi has a crucial opportunity to build cross-party support for this reform.
Achieving universal abolition remains the ultimate goal, but protecting existing progress is equally important. Countries that have already abolished capital punishment face pressure to reinstate it, making vigilance essential to safeguard these human rights advances.
This message was reinforced by Hon. Leila de Lima, a prominent PGA member recently re-elected to the Philippine House of Representatives, during the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty's General Assembly in Manila on June 7. The gathering provided a vital platform for the global abolitionist movement to strengthen coordination and strategy.
Parliamentarians for Global Action was honored to be re-elected to the World Coalition's steering committee, reaffirming our commitment to engaging parliamentarians worldwide and supporting the global movement to end capital punishment.
As elected representatives, parliamentarians hold unique power to drive legislative change and shape public discourse on this critical human rights issue. The path to abolition requires sustained political will, cross-party collaboration, and engagement with civil society partners. Through continued advocacy and legislative action, we can work toward a world where the death penalty becomes a practice of the past.
Positive developments:
Belarusian democratic forces (political forces in exile opposed to Alexander Lukashenko’s regime) adopted a memorandum to abolish the death penalty in Belarus. The democratic forces declared their commitment to enact the legislative changes, including changes to the Constitution that would abolish the death penalty and take steps to raise public awareness on the abolition process.
Pakistan:
Pakistan’s government tabled a bill in the Senate to remove the death penalty for public assault on women and harboring hijackers. If the bill is adopted, offenders will now face a life imprisonment and a fine. Taiwan:The Supreme Court overturned a death sentence case. The ruling was then upheld by the High Court. It was the first case to be reconsidered after the Constitutional Court ruled in September 2024 that Taiwan’s current use of the capital punishment violates due process rights guaranteed under the Constitution, thereby limiting its application to only a narrow category of very serious cases.
United Kingdom/Kenya:A Kenyan man who was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death in Kenya in 2013, is suing the Metropolitan Police Service — the police force within Greater London — over its role in the case.
United States of America:A Louisiana district judge invalidated the death sentence of an inmate who had spent three decades on death row, following a review of forensic evidence that the inmate’s legal team argued was based on “junk science.”
Viet Nam:The National Assembly adopted the amendment to the Criminal Code to abolish the death penalty for eight crimes, including attempting to overthrow the government, sabotaging state facilities, production and trade of counterfeit medicine, illegal transportation of narcotics, sabotaging peace and waging war, espionage, property embezzlement and bribe-taking.
Setbacks:
Four men were publicly executed in sport stadiums in the three provinces of Badghis, Nimroz and Farah. It represents the highest number of executions to be carried out in one day since the Taliban’s return to power.
China:Twoexecutions were recorded in the country in two cases where the victims were Japanese. In China, numbers of executions and death sentences are not publicly available.
Indonesia:One Australian, three British, as well as one American and two Kazakh nationals face the death penalty in three separate alleged drug-related cases.
Three Australians face the death penalty in a murder case.
Iran:Iran Human Rights NGO reported that at least 110 individuals were executed in April, and that at least 152 individuals were executed in May.
Executions of Afghan nationals has been rising at an unprecedented rate, with at least 32 Afghans executed since the beginning of 2025. 84 civil society organizations, including PGA, joined a statement to call for action to stop executions of Afghan nationals in Iran.
Since 2022, at least 11 individuals connected to the Woman, Life, Freedom protests have been executed – the most recent being Mojahed (Abbas) Kourkouri who was subjected to enforced disappearance, torture and unfair sham trial according to Amnesty International.
Following Israel’s attacks on Iran, civil society organizations have expressed their deep concerns over reports of torture and executions of individuals accused of “espionage” for Israel, including Dr. Ahmadreza Djalali, who has been on death row since 2017. Additional concerns were raised about the conditions of prisoners of Evin prison, after it was bombed by Israel.
Iran’s parliament approved death penalty for cooperation with Israel and the United States and already executed at least six men on such charges since the start of the conflict.
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:At least 111 individuals would have been executed since the beginning of the year. This is approximately 70% more than at the same time in 2024, which already recorded the highest number of executions in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. Among them, at least 68 were executed for drug-related offences.
A UN expert has urged the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to halt imminent execution of 26 Egyptian nationals for drug-related offences.
A Saudi journalist, Turki al-Jasser, was executed following seven years of detention. He is the second journalist to be sentenced to death and executed in the world since 2020.
Several Saudi activists still face lengthy prison terms and death sentences.
Japan:
Japan resumed executions for the first time in nearly three years, carrying out the hanging of man convicted of murdering nine people. In the country, executions are conducted under secrecy, with authorities providing only a few hours’ notice and families usually informed only once the execution has been completed.
< Malaysia:
Despite significant progress in 2024 by drastically reducing the death row population following the repeal of the mandatory death penalty, the continued imposition of death sentences, including for drug-related offenses, remains a deep concern.
< Singapore:
Several UN representatives working on issues of human rights expressed their serious concern about the Misuse of Drugs Act of 1973 and the supplementary Amendment Act of 2023. They say that some provisions are not consistent with international human rights law, including the right to life, right to fair trial, presumption of innocence and prohibition of torture.
One individual, convicted for murder, was executed in April.
Sudan:
Human Rights Defender Montaser Abdullah faces the death penalty. He was arrested in September 2024, after representing members of the Tagadom Coordination Committee against accusations by the National Committee for Investigating Crimes and Violation of National Laws and International Humanitarian Law.
< United States of America:
Several district attorneys have considered charging former death row prisoners whose sentences were commuted by former President Joe Biden, following a January White House executive order called them to do so. To date, a Louisiana prosecutor has successfully pursued a first-degree murder charge against one individual – meaning a Louisiana jury could reimpose the death penalty under state law if he is found guilty.
From March to June 2025, a total of 15 executions were recorded, including:
- 5 executions in Florida;
- 2 executions in Alabama, 2 in South Carolina, and 2 in Texas;
- 1 execution in Indiana, 1 in Mississippi, 1 in Oklahoma, 1 in Tennessee.
New Reports and Resources:
Amnesty International:
Amnesty International published its yearly death penalty report, which shows that in 2024, Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia accounted for 91% of all recorded executions, and were among the five countries with the highest number of executions.
UN Committee against Torture – 82nd Session:
Among its recommendations to Mauritius, the Committee invited Mauritius to take all legislative measures necessary to repeal section 4(1) of the Constitution with the aim of abolishing the death penalty in law and to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.
UN Universal Periodic Review – 49th Session:
From 28 April to 9 May, the 49th session of the Universal Periodic Review notably tabled recommendations pushing for death penalty reforms to Grenada, Guyana, Kenya, Kuwait, Laos, and Lesotho. However, Lao already stated that due to the country’s social and cultural context, it cannot abolish the death penalty at this time.
World Coalition Against the Death Penalty:
The World Coalition paid tribute to Sunny Jacobs, a tireless advocate and an inspiration to the entire abolitionist movement.