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
- APRIL 19, 2002TajikistanDEATH PENALTY
The chairman of the Tajik Supreme Court, Salimboy Fathilloyev,...
The chairman of the Tajik Supreme Court, Salimboy Fathilloyev, said that imposing a moratorium on the death penalty under the current conditions in Tajikistan was practically impossible
- MARCH 15, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The Rostov regional legislature passed a resolution...
The Rostov regional legislature passed a resolution demanding renunciation of the moratorium on capital punishment
- MARCH 14, 2002IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Support for Gov
Support for Gov
- MARCH 13, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his...
Russian President Vladimir Putin has reiterated his strong opposition to the death penalty
- FEBRUARY 18, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Analysts at the presidential state law department said...
Analysts at the presidential state law department said that The Russian president has no power to lift the moratorium from the death penalty
- FEBRUARY 16, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Constitutional Court...
Deputy Chairman of the Russian Constitutional Court Tamara Morshchakova described the appeal by the State Duma for [Russian] President [Vladimir Putin] to lift the moratorium on the death penalty as a populist measure
- FEBRUARY 15, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Independent State Duma deputy Sergey Yushenkov has...
Independent State Duma deputy Sergey Yushenkov has said he believes that the Duma appeal to the president to lift the moratorium on the death penalty "has been staged by the Kremlin"
- FEBRUARY 8, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The Russian government faces growing demands to re-institute...
The Russian government faces growing demands to re-institute the death penalty following a five-year moratorium
- FEBRUARY 4, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Russian presidential aide on pardon matters and prominent...
Russian presidential aide on pardon matters and prominent writer Anatoly Pristavkin spoke out categorically against a national referendum on re-introducing the death penalty in Russia
- JANUARY 29, 2002RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The murder of a young couple, Alexander and Mariya,...
The murder of a young couple, Alexander and Mariya, apparently by a gang who were after his $60,000 Lexus, sparked fresh debate over the future of the death penalty - on hold in Russia since 1996
- JANUARY 9, 2002CubaDEATH PENALTY
Some 50 prisoners await execution in Cuba, though no...
Some 50 prisoners await execution in Cuba, though no death sentences have been carried out there since 2000, an independent human rights organization on the island said, adding that most of those convicts live under "subhuman conditions
- JANUARY 1, 2002IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Illinois does not forbid the execution of the mentally...
Illinois does not forbid the execution of the mentally retarded but does forbid the execution of juvenile offenders
- JANUARY 1, 2002AzerbaijanDEATH PENALTY
Azerbaijan has observed a moratorium on executions...
Azerbaijan has observed a moratorium on executions since 1993, motivated by the desire to join the Council of Europe which has coaxed prospective members to eliminate the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2002KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
A new Penal Code entered into force in January 1998...
A new Penal Code entered into force in January 1998 and reduced the number of capital crimes, also replacing the death penalty with a maximum of 30 years
- JANUARY 1, 2002GeorgiaDEATH PENALTY
After a legal moratorium on executions, in July 1997,...
After a legal moratorium on executions, in July 1997, as he is empowered to do, President Shevardnadze had commuted the 54 outstanding death sentences to 20-year prison sentences
- JANUARY 1, 2002ItalyDEATH PENALTY
The Constitution approved in 1948 abolished the death...
The Constitution approved in 1948 abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes
- DECEMBER 7, 2001LebanonDEATH PENALTY
The head of Amnesty International sees "positive trends"...
The head of Amnesty International sees "positive trends" in Lebanon's human rights record over the past decade, but remains concerned over the number of arbitrary arrests
- DECEMBER 4, 2001IraqDEATH PENALTY
The UN Third Committee concluded session by approving...
The UN Third Committee concluded session by approving draft resolutions on human rights in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo
- DECEMBER 4, 2001AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The UN Third Committee concluded session by approving...
The UN Third Committee concluded session by approving draft resolutions on human rights in Myanmar, Afghanistan, Iraq, Democratic Republic of Congo
- NOVEMBER 30, 2001Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
At the UN Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and...
At the UN Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural) session the representative of Belgium, on behalf of the European Union, introduced a draft resolution on the Situation of Human Rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
- NOVEMBER 21, 2001KentuckyDEATH PENALTY
Sen. Gerald Neal wants a 2-year moratorium on executions...
Sen. Gerald Neal wants a 2-year moratorium on executions while Kentucky studies whether capital punishment is fairly administered. The moratorium will be considered by the 2002 General Assembly
- NOVEMBER 14, 2001MalaysiaDEATH PENALTY
The representative of Malaysia told the UN Third Committee...
The representative of Malaysia told the UN Third Committee debating human rights that her country believed capital punishment was an issue of criminal justice and not one of human rights
- NOVEMBER 14, 2001BelgiumDEATH PENALTY
Stephane de Loecker, the Belgian representative at...
Stephane de Loecker, the Belgian representative at the UN Third Committee debate on human rights, speaking on behalf of the European Union said the abolition of the death penalty would help further respect human rights
- NOVEMBER 8, 2001BelgiumDEATH PENALTY
At the UN Third Committee hearing for calls for priority...
At the UN Third Committee hearing for calls for priority attention to incorporating human rights treaty provisions into domestic law, the European Union welcomed the recent signatures and ratifications of the Second Optional Protocol to the International
- OCTOBER 31, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The Russian prosecution service will implement the...
The Russian prosecution service will implement the lifting of the moratorium on the death penalty if the State Duma passes legislation to this effect, First Deputy Prosecutor General Yuri Biryukov told the Duma
- OCTOBER 25, 2001SwitzerlandDEATH PENALTY
Too many children suffer from armed conflict and exploitation,...
Too many children suffer from armed conflict and exploitation, delegates told the Third Committee at the UN General Assembly as the discussion on children continued
- OCTOBER 2, 2001SwedenDEATH PENALTY
Sweden will have to negotiate with the USA on an exemption...
Sweden will have to negotiate with the USA on an exemption from the death penalty in the event of a suspected terrorist being extradited to the USA, Foreign Minister Anna Lindh said
- SEPTEMBER 19, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The People's Deputy Group in the State Duma reiterated...
The People's Deputy Group in the State Duma reiterated its call for the reinstatement of capital punishment
- SEPTEMBER 6, 2001South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
Addressing the UN World Conference Against Racism,...
Addressing the UN World Conference Against Racism, non-governmental organizations called for urgent action by member states to combat discrimination
- AUGUST 3, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
American Bar Association Urges Moratorium on Federal...
American Bar Association Urges Moratorium on Federal Death Penalty; Releases Death Penalty Protocols