The United Nations moratorium on the death penalty
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Since 2007 the General Assembly of the United Nations has adopted at regular intervals a resolution calling on states for a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty. The resolution is not binding, but every vote measures how many states are willing to support it, and the supporters have grown over time.
Hands Off Cain works on parliaments and governments so that this number grows and so that the vote is followed by decisions at home. This page collects the news on the votes, the co-sponsorships and the positions of individual countries.
Latest news
- JULY 10, 2003KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty rate in Kazakhstan was declining,...
The death penalty rate in Kazakhstan was declining, Justice Minister Onalsyn Zhumabekov told a session of the Legal Policy Council in Astana
- JULY 9, 2003KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said...
OSCE Chairman-in-Office Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, said he favoured an extension of the moratorium on the death penalty in Kyrgyzstan due to expire in December 2003
- JULY 9, 2003KenyaDEATH PENALTY
Robinson Githae, Assistant Minister for Justice and...
Robinson Githae, Assistant Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs of Kenya, in a meeting with Hands Off Cain officials in Rome, ensured his country's commitment to the abolition of the death penalty and Kenya's support for a moratorium resolution
- JULY 9, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Robinson Githae, Assistant Minister for Justice and...
Robinson Githae, Assistant Minister for Justice and Constitutional Affairs of Kenya, in a meeting with Hands Off Cain officials in Rome, ensured his country's commitment to the abolition of the death penalty and Kenya's support for a moratorium resolution
- JULY 8, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Sergio D'Elia, General Secretary of Hands Off Cain,...
Sergio D'Elia, General Secretary of Hands Off Cain, countered the statement by Amnesty International Italy's President Marco Bertotto, affirming that there is not yet a large enough number of favourable UN member states to ensure the approval of a morator
- JULY 8, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International "is not opposed" to the hypothesis...
Amnesty International "is not opposed" to the hypothesis of a resolution for a death penalty moratorium at the UN General Assembly
- JULY 8, 2003UzbekistanDEATH PENALTY
The head of the 55-nation Organisation for Security...
The head of the 55-nation Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on called on Uzbekistan to refrain from further use of the death penalty following warnings that the ex-Soviet republic has secretly executed prisoners awaiting appeal he
- JULY 7, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
The Italian version of Hands Off Cain's 2003 Report...
The Italian version of Hands Off Cain's 2003 Report on the death penalty worldwide has presented in Rome
- JULY 6, 2003European UnionDEATH PENALTY
The European Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission...
The European Parliament Foreign Affairs Commission evaluated the project Report on the Global Human Rights Situation (the Van den Bos report), voting on almost 300 amendments put forward by different parties
- JULY 2, 2003PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Deputy Director...
Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) Deputy Director General Rodolfo Caisip argued for the immediate lifting of the government-imposed moratorium on the execution of more than two dozens drug traffickers held in the Death Row of the Bilibid Prison in
- JULY 2, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
In the debate on Italy's agenda for its EU presidency...
In the debate on Italy's agenda for its EU presidency presented by Premier Silvio Berlusconi to the European Parliament, MEP and Hands Off Cain president Marco Pannella, called on Italy to "include the moratorium issue in the agenda of the next UN General
- MAY 23, 2003JapanDEATH PENALTY
A group of 122 lawmakers calling for the abolition...
A group of 122 lawmakers calling for the abolition of the death penalty in Japan said they would submit a bill demanding a halt to hangings to the current Diet session in June 2003
- MAY 7, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Former EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner and Hands Off...
Former EU Humanitarian Aid Commissioner and Hands Off Cain honorary president MEP Emma Bonino welcomed the commitment of the Italian government to present a resolution for a worldwide moratorium on executions to the United Nations General Assembly express
- MAY 7, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
The Italian government's commitment to re-propose the...
The Italian government's commitment to re-propose the moratorium resolution to the UN General Assembly was greeted jubilantly by the Italian Senate's Commission for Human Rights
- MAY 7, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
ITALIAN GOVERNMENT TO PRESENT MORATORIUM RESOLUTION AT UNGA
May 7, 2003: Deputy Prime Minister Gianfranco Fini last night pledged the Italian government’s commitment to HOC’s campaign for a worldwide moratorium on executions. Italy will re-present the moratorium resolution in the upcoming UN General Assembly.
- MAY 5, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Ryan argued that the American public is for a fair,...
Ryan argued that the American public is for a fair, honest and just death penalty system, and the study conducted on the Illinois system showed that this was not so
- MAY 5, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
In his first public debate on the death penalty outside...
In his first public debate on the death penalty outside the United States, former Illinois Governor George Ryan called for states that execute people all over the world to impose moratoria and take the time to study their capital punishment systems
- APRIL 29, 2003North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
In Raleigh, a state Senate committee approved a 2-year...
In Raleigh, a state Senate committee approved a 2-year moratorium on executions
- APRIL 25, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
The nation's black mayors offered their unanimous support...
The nation's black mayors offered their unanimous support for a moratorium on the death penalty, citing the over-representation of minorities on death row and growing questions about the fairness of evidence analysis as reasons for their stance
- APRIL 24, 2003United NationsDEATH PENALTY
A resolution for a moratorium on capital executions...
A resolution for a moratorium on capital executions and the abolition of the death penalty was approved, for the seventh consecutive year, at the UN Commission on Human Rights with 24 votes in favour, 10 abstentions and 18 votes against
- APRIL 17, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Leroy Orange, exonerated from Illinois' death row,...
Leroy Orange, exonerated from Illinois' death row, intervened at the UN Commission on Human Rights on behalf of the Transational Radical Party
- APRIL 16, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
A briefing organised by Hands Off Cain for a moratorium...
A briefing organised by Hands Off Cain for a moratorium on capital executions took place at the UN buildings in Geneva
- APRIL 15, 2003GreeceDEATH PENALTY
Has been launched in Greece, holders of the EU Presidency,...
Has been launched in Greece, holders of the EU Presidency, the campaign "Stop the Death Penalty Through Internet"
- APRIL 15, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Has been launched in Greece, holders of the EU Presidency,...
Has been launched in Greece, holders of the EU Presidency, the campaign "Stop the Death Penalty Through Internet"
- APRIL 11, 2003CubaDEATH PENALTY
Lorenzo Enrique Copello Castillo, Barbaro Leodan Sevilla...
Lorenzo Enrique Copello Castillo, Barbaro Leodan Sevilla GarcIa and Jorge Luis Martinez Isaac, three men convicted of terrorism for hijacking of a passenger ferry in Cuba were executed
- MARCH 20, 2003CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
There is no need for a death penalty moratorium in...
There is no need for a death penalty moratorium in California - even though there are more than 600 people on death row - because there are no problems with the sentencing process, according to a report released by a group of prosecutors
- MARCH 18, 2003MarylandDEATH PENALTY
The Maryland Senate rejected by a single vote, 24-23,...
The Maryland Senate rejected by a single vote, 24-23, a bill that would have reinstated a two-year moratorium on the death penalty
- MARCH 15, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
Cases involving DNA analysis from the troubled Houston...
Cases involving DNA analysis from the troubled Houston police crime lab won't be treated any differently than other capital cases that reach Gov
- MARCH 6, 2003MarylandDEATH PENALTY
Legislation that could impose a new moratorium on the...
Legislation that could impose a new moratorium on the death penalty in Maryland narrowly passed a procedural hurdle in the state Senate, but the legislation appears to be doomed when it reaches a final vote in the chamber
- MARCH 4, 2003PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
Panel Urges Halt to Executions in Pa
Panel Urges Halt to Executions in Pa