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
- AUGUST 2, 2001ItalyDEATH PENALTY
New death sentences in Palestina, prompted a protest...
New death sentences in Palestina, prompted a protest by Hands Off Cain in Rome, as Arafat visited Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi
- JULY 26, 2001ItalyDEATH PENALTY
The deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Alfredo...
The deputy Speaker of the Chamber of Deputies Alfredo Biondi and MP Fabrizio Vigni presented the group of deputies against the death penalty to the Chamber
- JULY 24, 2001ItalyDEATH PENALTY
At the informative session in Rome for non-governmental...
At the informative session in Rome for non-governmental organisations in preparation for the World Conference against Racism, Italian NGOs supported Hands Off Cain's proposal for a global moratorium on executions through a UN resolution
- JULY 19, 2001IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Illinois Governor George H
Illinois Governor George H
- JULY 17, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The European Union praised Russia's President Vladimir...
The European Union praised Russia's President Vladimir Putin for upholding a moratorium on the death penalty
- JULY 17, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
The head of the country's Pardons Commission was quoted...
The head of the country's Pardons Commission was quoted as saying that the moratorium on the death penalty in Russia, imposed despite strong public opposition, has not triggered a rise in crime
- JULY 9, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Russia is fully observing its moratorium on the death...
Russia is fully observing its moratorium on the death penalty, the head of the country's Constitutional Court said
- JULY 9, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
President Vladimir Putin, invoking the God-given right...
President Vladimir Putin, invoking the God-given right to life, said that Russia had to uphold its five-year-old moratorium on the death penalty despite widespread calls to reinstate executions to fight crime
- JULY 5, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Eighty percent of Russians think that the death penalty...
Eighty percent of Russians think that the death penalty is permissible, the Public Opinion Foundation said based on a June 30 poll of 1,500 village and town residents nationwide
- APRIL 27, 2001VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
Blacksburg has become the third locality to call for...
Blacksburg has become the third locality to call for a moratorium on executions in Virginia, and a group opposed to the death penalty says it will continue to seek supporters in town and city halls across the state
- APRIL 19, 2001TexasDEATH PENALTY
The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved...
The House Criminal Jurisprudence Committee approved two measures that could halt executions for 2 years in the nation's most active death penalty state
- APRIL 17, 2001JapanDEATH PENALTY
Speaking at the UN Commission on Human Rights on item...
Speaking at the UN Commission on Human Rights on item 17, the promotion and protection of human rights, Masaru Watanabe said since the European Union was going to submit a draft resolution on the question of the death penalty, Japan wanted to state its po
- APRIL 13, 2001MarylandDEATH PENALTY
The Maryland Court of Appeals, in denying a request...
The Maryland Court of Appeals, in denying a request to expedite death row inmate Steven Oken's appeals, has effectively placed at least a temporary moratorium on executions
- APRIL 12, 2001TexasDEATH PENALTY
Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee endorsed a...
Texas Senate Criminal Justice Committee endorsed a resolution that would allow voters to decide whether to impose a two-year moratorium on executions while the state's death penalty is studied
- APRIL 9, 2001MarylandDEATH PENALTY
Bills HB 563 and SB 316 died with session end
Bills HB 563 and SB 316 died with session end
- APRIL 4, 2001LouisianaDEATH PENALTY
The state Senate rejected a 3-year moratorium on executions
The state Senate rejected a 3-year moratorium on executions
- MARCH 30, 2001FranceDEATH PENALTY
French President Jacques Chirac speaking to the UN...
French President Jacques Chirac speaking to the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, called for the universal abolition of the death penalty and a general moratorium on executions
- MARCH 15, 2001ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Hands Off Cain and Nexta
Hands Off Cain and Nexta
- MARCH 7, 2001PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not impose a...
President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo will not impose a moratorium on the death penalty, and said the issue "is a matter for Congress to determine
- MARCH 4, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The Rutherford Institute Urges President Bush to Declare...
The Rutherford Institute Urges President Bush to Declare a Death Penalty Moratorium In a letter to President Bush, John W
- FEBRUARY 2, 2001IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Five Illinois lawmakers introduced a bill to repeal...
Five Illinois lawmakers introduced a bill to repeal the death penalty, 13 months after Gov
- JANUARY 31, 2001United StatesDEATH PENALTY
On the 1st anniversary of Illinois' death penalty moratorium,...
On the 1st anniversary of Illinois' death penalty moratorium, Wisconsin Sen
- JANUARY 24, 2001ItalyDEATH PENALTY
The Committee for the Abolition of the Death Penalty...
The Committee for the Abolition of the Death Penalty presented its conclusive report to the Italian Senate
- JANUARY 1, 2001AzerbaijanDEATH 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, 2001GeorgiaDEATH PENALTY
In 1993 Georgia introduced a moratorium on executions...
In 1993 Georgia introduced a moratorium on executions that was lifted for a while in 1995
- JANUARY 1, 2001RussiaDEATH PENALTY
In 1996, the then President Boris Yeltsin imposed a...
In 1996, the then President Boris Yeltsin imposed a moratorium on the use of capital punishment when Russia joined the Council of Europe on February 28 of that year
- JANUARY 1, 2001KyrgyzstanDEATH 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
- DECEMBER 20, 2000AfghanistanDEATH PENALTY
The General Assembly adopted, without a vote, a resolution...
The General Assembly adopted, without a vote, a resolution on Afghanistan
- DECEMBER 4, 2000IraqDEATH PENALTY
The U
The U
- DECEMBER 4, 2000Myanmar (Burma)DEATH PENALTY
The U
The U