S AFRICA'S TUTU CALLS FOR GLOBAL BAN ON DEATH PENALTY AHEAD OF UN VOTE

the death penalty is a violation of fundamental human rights, and it should be abolished around the world, South Africa's Nobel Peace Prize laureate Desmond Tutu wrote in a comment piece in The Guardian. "I am delighted that the death penalty is being removed from the globe," Tutu wrote, referring to steadily rising numbers of countries that have abolished capital punishment in either law or practice. "The death penalty ... says that to kill in certain circumstances is acceptable, and encourages the doctrine of revenge. If we are to break these cycles, we must remove government-sanctioned violence." "The time has come to abolish the death penalty worldwide," Tutu wrote. "The case for abolition becomes more compelling with each passing year." "In country after country, it (capital punishment) is used disproportionately against the poor or against racial or ethnic minorities," Tutu wrote. "It is often used as a tool of political repression. It is imposed and inflicted arbitrarily. It is an irrevocable punishment, resulting inevitably in the execution of people innocent of any crime. "It is a violation of fundamental human rights."