On October 8, Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani, speaking...

On October 8, Ambassador Kishore Mahbubani, speaking at the Third Committee of the General Assembly on item 106 (social development), referring to the European Union's resolution on the death penalty, said, "We should respect their right to abolish the death penalty in their societies and their right to live with the consequences of their actions. But the European Union wants to do more: it wishes to impose its values on other societies and is prepared to coerce some developing countries, especially those receiving EU aid, to vote in favor of their social value systems... Today, they advocate the abolition of the death penalty. Tomorrow they could advocate the legalization of drugs (which has already happened in some European societies). The day after tomorrow they could advocate the legalization of prostitution (which has already happened also in some European societies). Where and when will it stop?... Each society makes its decision on the death penalty issue on the basis of the complex matrix of social, cultural and religious values that it believes in. In some societies, the death penalty is even prescribed in religious texts. Hence, in pushing for the abolition of the death penalty, the European Union is declaring that its value systems are superior to those other societies of the world."