The final quarter of 2025 left the movement for the abolition of the death penalty facing grim realities. Executions reached record highs, especially for offences not meeting the “most serious crimes” threshold (intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences) required under international law. Across all regions, concerning trends emerged:

• A surge in the number of executions in Iran, Saudi Arabia, Singapore and the United States of America, alongside the continued use of public executions by the Taliban in Afghanistan;
• Legislative setbacks – including expansion of the death penalty to drug-trafficking offences in The Maldives, a discriminatory bill targeting Palestinians in Israel, and an amendment to reinstate the death penalty in Burkina Faso.
The need for parliamentary leadership

Now more than ever there is the need for parliamentarians worldwide to take action and mobilize. The death penalty is not an effective tool in the fight against crime it is often applied arbitrarily and discriminatorily; it represents a form of torture; and it does not guarantee security. Parliamentarians for Global Action highlighted this message on the 10^th World Day Against the Death Penalty with its factsheet “The Death Penalty protects No One.” This document provides parliamentarians with concrete arguments to counter prevailing narratives and describes how governments have used “security” as a political tool to justify capital punishment.

An important focus of the abolitionist work must also address the gender dimension of the death penalty. Between 500-1,000 women in 42 countries sentenced to death live in deplorable conditions. The Guardian published the stories of five women on death row describing the intersectional nature of their situation and more difficult conditions of detention, such as heightened security and solitary confinement. Read more about the gender dimension of the death penalty and work of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty on gender here.

Hope in action: parliamentarians driving change

Despite these worrying developments, hope remains fueled by the commitment of parliamentarians around the world. Hon. Musowa, MP and PGA Member (Malawi), exemplified this during Malawi’s Universal Periodic Review, where Parliamentarians for Global Action and civil society partners organized an “Information Meeting on the Universal Periodic Review Process in Malawi: Towards the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Malawi and the Region.” The event highlighted Malawi’s journey towards abolition, discussed remaining challenges, and shared best practices. On this occasion, Hon. Musowa reaffirmed: “I make the commitment knowing where we are coming from, knowing what we are able to achieve and knowing what we are able to do as Malawian Parliament.”

Mobilization was also key during the fifth regional congress on the death penalty in East Asia, organized by Ensemble contre la peine de mort in Tokyo (Japan), and to which Parliamentarians for Global Action Secretariat attended, alongside former PGA members and allies of the abolitionist movement, such as Hon. Oyungerel Tsedevdemba (Mongolia) or Mario Marazziti (Italy). Japanese parliamentarians also attended the Congress and made a strong commitment to reopening the debate on abolition, and to working on the need for more transparency in death penalty proceedings, judicial reform, and regional cooperation.

Hope for generating progress in the region also came from Malaysia, as Hon. Kulasegaran, Deputy Law Minister in the Malaysian Prime Minister’s Department and PGA Member announced a comprehensive study on the abolition of the death penalty, launching in January 2026. This could represent the first step toward full abolition of the death penalty in the country.

The year 2025 thus ended on a somber note, but it is worth remembering that globally, two third of UN Member States have abolished the death penalty in their legislation and nearly three-quarters have ceased executions – notably thanks to the action and commitment of parliamentarians. Progress continues, and the will to uphold human rights is evident, as demonstrated by the adoption, with 31 votes in favor, of the resolution on the death penalty at the Human Rights Council.

October to December 2025 at a Glance

Positive developments:

 Council of Europe:

 The Committee of Ministers (the Council of Europe’s decision-making body, comprising Ministers of Foreign Affairs of all the Member States) adopted a set of decisions reviewing the existing measures against the trade in goods used for the death penalty, torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including further actions to strengthen their implementation.

 Kyrgyzstan:




 The Constitutional Court ruled as unconstitutional the government’s proposal to reinstate the death penalty for crimes against women and children, declaring that “bringing back the death penalty is unacceptable and legally impossible,” as it would constitute a violation of the constitutional guarantee of the right to life and breach Kyrgyzstan’s international human rights obligations.

 Malaysia:




 Malaysian government announced that it will launch a comprehensive study on the abolition of the death penalty beginning in January 2026. This announcement follows the decision in 2023 to abolish the mandatory death penalty and reduce its scope. According to Amnesty International, in 2025, 97 individuals remain on death row, including 47 waiting for an appeal.

 Sudan:




 Lawyer and human rights defender Montaser Abdullah, who offered legal assistance to survivors of gender-based violence and was facing the death penalty, has been released after the Criminal Court in Port Sudan acquitted him. Montaser Abdullah was charged for alleged espionage and denied the charges. Since the outbreak of war in Sudan in 2023, lawyers have been among those most targeted by both warring parties, including cases of arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, torture and arbitrary killings.




Setbacks:

 Afghanistan:




 The Taliban de facto authorities conducted new public executions, bringing the number to at least 12 public executions since the Taliban took over in August 2021. The international community and UN experts, including the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Afghanistan, condemned the public executions and called on the de facto authorities to immediately impose a moratorium and abolish the death penalty.

 Bangladesh:




 The International Crimes Tribunal sentenced, in absentia, Bangladesh’s former prime minister to death, for crimes against humanity. She was found guilty of ordering a deadly crackdown on student-led protest in 2024, which led to the death of at least 1,400 people and thousands wounded – most by gunfire from security forces. The death sentence was condemned by civil society organizations, including the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network, who recalled that “the death penalty does not enhance accountability, nor does it strengthen the rule of law.”

 Burkina Faso:




 Burkina Faso’s government adopted a draft bill to reform the Penal Code, which includes reinstating the death penalty for offences such as “high treason,” “terrorism,” and “acts of espionage,” seven years only after it abolished capital punishment for ordinary crimes. The bill was passed to the Transitional Legislative Assembly. Civil society organizations urge the Transitional Legislative Assembly to oppose the reintroduction of the death penalty in the Penal Code, as it would represents a serious setback for human rights in the country, and the rule of law.

Iran:




 According to Iran Human Rights, at least 1,500 people were executed in 2025 (including at least 700 for drug-related offences), the highest number since the late 1980s and a rise of 106% compared to 2024. Many stakeholders, including the UN Fact-Finding Mission expressed alarm by the surge in repression and executions, especially since Israeli airstrikes in June, which were followed by a government crackdown that has further “constricted civic space, undermined due process and eroded respect for the right to life.” The Fact-Finding Mission noted that most death penalty cases investigated appear to contravene international human rights law, thereby violating the right to life.

 The Guardian Council approved new anti-espionage legislation which expands penalties for spying and collaboration with Israel and the United States, including the death penalty.

Israel:




 The Knesset (Israel’s Parliament) approved a bill in its first reading which aims at introducing a mandatory death penalty for Palestinians convicted of deadly attacks against Israelis. The bill requires two more readings before becoming law. It raised serious concerns among human rights organizations and UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk urged the Israeli authorities to not pass the bill, recalling its discriminatory principle, and its inconsistency with Israel’s obligations under international law.

 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia:




 At least 356 people were executed in Saudi Arabia in 2025, making this year the “bloodiest year of executions in the Kingdom since monitoring began” according to Reprieve. Among these, at least two thirds were convicted for drug-related offences, in violation with international norms and standards. Other important cases include a journalist and two individuals who were children at the time of their alleged protest-related crimes.

 Kuwait:




 New anti-drugs legislation expands the death penalty cases for at least 10 drug offences, including for those who repeat the drugs-related crime.

 Maldives:




 The People’s Majlis (Maldives’s parliament) adopted legislation expanding the scope of the death penalty to drug-trafficking offences through amendments to the Drugs Act. Civil society organizations, including Parliamentarians for Global Action, joined the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network's call to the government of the Maldives to repeal the amendment, to maintain the moratorium on executions, and to adopt a clear plan towards full abolition.

 Singapore:




 In 2025, at least 17 people have been executed, most for drug-related offences. It represents the deadliest year since 2003 according to the NGO Capital Punishment Justice Project.

Tunisia:




 A man was sentenced to death for social media publications criticizing the President. The man received a presidential pardon one week later, but this unprecedented sentence for nonviolent expression raises serious concerns about restrictions on the freedom of expression and the rule of law in the country.

 United States of America:




 In 2025, 47 executions took place in the country, the highest level in 16 years. Methods used included nitrogen gas execution in Alabama and Louisiana, despite it being considered as amounting to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment and torture.

 From October-December 2025, a total of 13 executions were recorded, included:

• 6 executions in Florida;
• 1 execution in Indiana;
• 1 execution in Missouri;
• 1 execution in Mississippi;
• 1 execution in Arizona;
• 1 execution in Alabama;
• 1 in South Carolina; and
• 1 in Tennessee.


New Reports and Resources:
 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
 The ACHPR adopted the activity report of the Working Group on the Death Penalty, Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions and Enforced Disappearances in Africa. The latter confirms the predominantly abolitionist trend in the African continent, although it underlines concerns for the fairness of proceedings in retentionist States and for the extent to which the continued existence of the death penalty violates the prohibition of torture and other cruel or inhuman treatment.
 International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH)


 FIDH published a new report on the death penalty in Asia (2020-2025), “Enduring injustice.” It finds that in most of the retentionist countries in Asia, the death penalty remains in force for offences that do not meet the threshold of the “most serious crimes under international law.”
 Universal Periodic Session – 50^th session:


 States formulated recommendations to abolish the death penalty to Belarus, Jamaica, Liberia, Libya, Malawi and the Maldives.
 UN Human Rights Council 60th session:


 The Human Rights adopted the resolution on the question of the death penalty, with 31 votes in favor, 8 abstentions and 7 votes against. The resolution urges States to protect the rights of persons facing the death penalty, to respect international standards that provide safeguards guaranteeing protection of the human rights of those facing the death penalty, to ensure fair trial guarantees, and to consider acceding or ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.