Leaders of Central Asian governments gathered in the...

Leaders of Central Asian governments gathered in the Tajik capital of Dushanbe for a two-day conference entitled "The Death Penalty and the Right to Live." The forum was attended by representatives of the legislative, executive, and judicial branches of the governments of Russia, Belarus and Armenia, as well as former Soviet republics in Central Asia. According to the Tajikistan Office of the Soros Foundation, which co-organized the conference in partnership with the Tajik government, the agenda highlighted, among other issues, international tendencies in the abolition of the death penalty and their reflection in national laws, criminal enforcement system reforms, and activities by clemency and human rights organizations.