PACE URGES RUSSIA TO ABOLISH DEATH PENALTY

monitors from the Council of Europe's Parliamentary Assembly reiterated calls for Russia to abolish the death penalty, a commitment it undertook when it joined the body in 1996. After joining, Russia imposed a moratorium on executions but it is the only country among the council's 46 members not to have ratified a protocol to the European Convention on Human Rights on the abolition of the death penalty. The PACE monitors are in Russia to assess its progress in honoring its commitments to the council, Europe's top human rights watchdog. The monitors said they had noted some positive developments.