The European Union was planning to expand its campaign...

The European Union was planning to expand its campaign against capital punishment worldwide as part of its reign policy, an EU official said. The move followed an EU inspection of death row in the Philippines after a decision in the country to resume executions. A document provided by the European Commission in Manila outlined the EU policy. In countries which maintained the death penalty, the EU aimed at the progressive restriction of its scope and respect for the strict conditions, set forth in several international human rights instruments, under which capital punishment may be used, the document said. In addition, in such countries, the EU would advocate for the establishment of a moratorium on executions, as a first step toward a complete abolition of the death penalty.