On October 10, the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, Federica Mogherini, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, and Marija Pejčinović Burić, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, have made a joint statement.
According to the top EU officials, 142 countries, representing 74% of the UN member states, have already stopped using the death penalty, either by removing it from their penal code or not carrying out executions for a long time. The abolitionist trend is continuing, with the number of death sentences and executions also falling.
In 2018, executions were carried out in 20 countries, representing a historic low of 10% of the countries of the world, they state.
The Council of Europe member states which have not yet acceded to Protocols No 6 and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights are called upon to do so without delay, the EU representatives stress.
“The Council of Europe and the EU once again urge Belarus to abolish the death penalty and join the community of nations that have chosen to replace vengeance with human dignity. They also invite those observers to the Council of Europe who have not yet abolished death penalty to engage in dialogue on the obstacles blocking their path towards abolition,” the statement reads.
Christina Johannesson, Sweden’s Ambassador in Minsk, has supported the campaign:
Belarus remains the only country in Europe that still applies capital punishment. The West has repeatedly called on the Belarusian authorities to join a global moratorium as a first step towards the abolition of death penalty.
The exact number of executions in Belarus is unknown, but local human rights defenders and journalists have worked tirelessly to uncover some information about death sentences and executions. According to the Ministry of Justice of Belarus, 245 people were sentenced to death from 1994 to 2014. Human rights NGOs believe that around 400 people have been executed since the country gained its independence in 1991; president Alyaksandr Lukashenka granted a pardon to only one convict.
belsat.eu
