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
- FEBRUARY 28, 2003MarylandDEATH PENALTY
A bill that would halt executions in Maryland for the...
A bill that would halt executions in Maryland for the next two years while the death penalty gets a more stringent review cleared a major hurdle, surviving a close committee vote and moving to the Senate floor
- FEBRUARY 18, 2003ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
A state commission recommended nearly two dozen changes...
A state commission recommended nearly two dozen changes in Arizona's death penalty system, including banning the execution of convicted killers under age 18
- FEBRUARY 3, 2003KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
Kazakhstan will declare a moratorium on capital punishment...
Kazakhstan will declare a moratorium on capital punishment as early as by the end of 2003, the speaker of the Senate, Oralbay Abdykarimov, said during a meeting with Baroness Vivien Stern, the honorary secretary-general Penal Reform International and a me
- JANUARY 22, 2003MarylandDEATH PENALTY
Eight months after Maryland's governor declared a moratorium...
Eight months after Maryland's governor declared a moratorium on executions, a judge agreed to sign a death warrant, allowing the first capital case to move forward under new Gov
- JANUARY 18, 2003North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
In what perhaps was a watershed year for North Carolina's...
In what perhaps was a watershed year for North Carolina's death penalty, more death row inmates got reduced sentences - or the chance at them - in 2002 than were allowed to die
- JANUARY 17, 2003IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
The Presidency of the European Union issued a declaration...
The Presidency of the European Union issued a declaration on behalf of the EU on the decision to commute the sentences of all prisoners on death row in Illinois, US
- JANUARY 15, 2003TexasDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty controversy sparked by the commutation...
The death penalty controversy sparked by the commutation of all 167 death row inmates in Illinois may spread to Texas if two bills filed last week pass the state Legislature
- JANUARY 14, 2003Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
UN rights chief Sergio Vieira de Mello voiced concern...
UN rights chief Sergio Vieira de Mello voiced concern over the death sentences against 30 people for involvement in the killing of president Laurent Kabila of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)
- JANUARY 13, 2003KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
Eighteen people were sentenced to death in Kazakhstan...
Eighteen people were sentenced to death in Kazakhstan in 2002
- JANUARY 10, 2003IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
On January 31, 2000, Illinois Governor George Ryan...
On January 31, 2000, Illinois Governor George Ryan declared a moratorium on executions in his state, pending an investigation into the state's capital punishment system
- JANUARY 8, 2003ConnecticutDEATH PENALTY
Following the 6 July 2001 law barring the death penalty...
Following the 6 July 2001 law barring the death penalty for those with mental retardation, a death penalty Commission was set up to see if there was inequality in the system with regards to race and economic background of defendants
- JANUARY 7, 2003MarylandDEATH PENALTY
Blacks who kill whites are significantly more likely...
Blacks who kill whites are significantly more likely to face the death penalty in Maryland than are blacks who kill blacks or white killers, according to a state-sponsored study
- JANUARY 6, 2003KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
In accordance with the country's new criminal code...
In accordance with the country's new criminal code it was planned to introduce a moratorium on capital punishment in Kazakhstan as of January 2003
- JANUARY 4, 2003IranDEATH PENALTY
A moratorium on executions by stoning is only temporary,...
A moratorium on executions by stoning is only temporary, a senior Iranian conservative cleric said, while admitting the practice had hurt Tehran's image abroad
- JANUARY 3, 2003KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev made a radio statement...
Kyrgyzstan President Askar Akayev made a radio statement regarding the extension of the death penalty moratorium until the end of 2003
- JANUARY 1, 2003LithuaniaDEATH PENALTY
A legal moratorium on executions was established in...
A legal moratorium on executions was established in 1996, following a presidential decree
- JANUARY 1, 2003AzerbaijanDEATH PENALTY
Azerbaijan had observed a moratorium on executions...
Azerbaijan had observed a moratorium on executions since 1993, motivated by the desire to join the Council of Europe
- JANUARY 1, 2003GeorgiaDEATH PENALTY
President Eduard Shevardnadze established a legal moratorium...
President Eduard Shevardnadze established a legal moratorium on executions in Georgia in July 1997
- JANUARY 1, 2003BulgariaDEATH PENALTY
A moratorium on executions imposed by Parliament was...
A moratorium on executions imposed by Parliament was in place between July 20, 1990 and December 10, 1998
- JANUARY 1, 2003GeorgiaDEATH PENALTY
The last execution was carried out in February 1995
The last execution was carried out in February 1995
- JANUARY 1, 2003LatviaDEATH PENALTY
President Guntis Ulmanis imposed a moratorium on executions...
President Guntis Ulmanis imposed a moratorium on executions in September 1996
- JANUARY 1, 2003ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Italy has signed but not yet ratified Protocol No 13...
Italy has signed but not yet ratified Protocol No 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms banning the death penalty in all circumstances
- JANUARY 1, 2003MoldovaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty has been retained in the internationally...
The death penalty has been retained in the internationally unrecognized separatist entity of Transdniestria
- JANUARY 1, 2003RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Russia has had a moratorium on executions since 1996
Russia has had a moratorium on executions since 1996
- JANUARY 1, 2003MarylandDEATH PENALTY
On May 9, 2002, Maryland Gov
On May 9, 2002, Maryland Gov
- JANUARY 1, 2003AlgeriaDEATH PENALTY
Former President Liamine Zeroual declared a moratorium...
Former President Liamine Zeroual declared a moratorium on executions in 1993 and no executions have been carried out since
- JANUARY 1, 2003North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
Between 2001 and 2002, two bills were proposed for...
Between 2001 and 2002, two bills were proposed for a moratorium on executions and the forming of a commission to study the use of the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2003PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
Between 2001 and 2002 bills were proposed for the introduction...
Between 2001 and 2002 bills were proposed for the introduction of a two year moratorium and for the abolishment of the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2003VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
In 2002 bills were proposed for the introduction of...
In 2002 bills were proposed for the introduction of a moratorium on executions but they were rejected by the Commission
- JANUARY 1, 2003TennesseeDEATH PENALTY
Between 2001 and 2002 two bills were proposed for the...
Between 2001 and 2002 two bills were proposed for the introduction of a moratorium on executions and for the setting up of a commission to study the application of the death penalty