The EU's External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten...

The EU's External Affairs Commissioner Chris Patten slammed the widespread use of the death penalty around the world and vowed no letup in the EU's campaign for a global moratorium. "The EU is opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances and has agreed to campaign for its universal abolition. That stance is rooted in our belief in the inherent dignity of all human beings," he told a session of the European Parliament. He noted that all the countries of central and eastern Europe negotiating EU membership had scrapped the death penalty but said some 87 other states retained capital punishment. "About 30 states carry out executions in any given year. One or two carry out executions in industrial quantities," he added. Patten said the EU had regularly raised the issue with some of those states, including the United States, China, Turkey, India, Pakistan and the Palestinian Authority. "In countries which retain the death penalty, the EU aims at a progressive restriction of its scope and respect for the strict conditions set out in international human rights instruments," Patten said.