As representative of the Presidency of the European...

As representative of the Presidency of the European Union, Joao da Rocha Paris, Ambassador of Portugal, conveyed to Governor George Bush an urgent humanitarian appeal on behalf of Glen Charles McGinnis, scheduled to be executed on January 25. McGinnis was only 17 years old at the time of the crime for which he was convicted. In the appeal the European Union also noted the view of the United Nations Human Rights Committee that the reservation made by the United States to Article 6 of the ICCPR, which expressly forbids the execution of people whose crime was committed when they were under 18 years of age, is incompatible with the object and purpose of that International Covenant and should, therefore, be withdrawn. Mc Ginnis was executed.