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
- NOVEMBER 20, 2000United StatesDEATH PENALTY
In a letter delivered to the White House, religious,...
In a letter delivered to the White House, religious, civil rights, and political leaders urged President Clinton to declare a moratorium on federal executions
- NOVEMBER 2, 2000SwedenDEATH PENALTY
Sweden submitted a draft resolution to a U
Sweden submitted a draft resolution to a U
- NOVEMBER 2, 2000CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
According to a Los Angeles Times Poll, support for...
According to a Los Angeles Times Poll, support for capital punishment in California has fallen 20% in the past decade, from 78% in 1990 to 58% in 2000
- OCTOBER 16, 2000North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
The City Council of Greensboro, by an 8-1 vote, passed...
The City Council of Greensboro, by an 8-1 vote, passed a resolution urging a moratorium on executions in the state, whose death row is the fifth largest in the nation
- OCTOBER 12, 2000United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The ABA held a conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta...
The ABA held a conference at the Carter Center in Atlanta to again urge attorneys, judges, and policymakers to support a moratorium on executions
- OCTOBER 1, 2000IranDEATH PENALTY
In October 2000, U
In October 2000, U
- SEPTEMBER 13, 2000RussiaDEATH PENALTY
People's Deputy leader Gennady Raykov addressed Russian...
People's Deputy leader Gennady Raykov addressed Russian President Vladimir Putin with a request to cancel a moratorium on capital punishment in the country due to "the inexpedience of its observance
- JULY 27, 2000United StatesDEATH PENALTY
The European Union, in a demarche made at the White...
The European Union, in a demarche made at the White House with President Clinton's Chief Counsel Beth Nolan, called on the federal authorities not to break a de facto moratorium on the federal death penalty of almost forty years and to grant Mr
- JULY 1, 2000ArizonaDEATH PENALTY
A poll by the Behavior Research Center found that support...
A poll by the Behavior Research Center found that support for the death penalty in Arizona drops significantly when specific circumstances are introduced
- JUNE 21, 2000United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Al Gore interjected himself Wednesday into the death-penalty...
Al Gore interjected himself Wednesday into the death-penalty maelstrom surrounding Republican rival George W
- MAY 27, 2000CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
Cardinal Roger Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop...
Cardinal Roger Mahony, the Roman Catholic archbishop of Los Angeles, has urged California Gov
- APRIL 26, 2000Governo Federale degli Stati UnitiDEATH PENALTY
Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI) and Carl Levin (D-MI)...
Senators Russell Feingold (D-WI) and Carl Levin (D-MI) introduced the "National Death Penalty Moratorium Act of 2000
- APRIL 26, 2000United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Federal moratorium on executions (Senate)
Federal moratorium on executions (Senate)
- APRIL 26, 2000ItalyDEATH PENALTY
The UN Human Rights Commission approved a resolution...
The UN Human Rights Commission approved a resolution in favour of a worldwide moratorium on capital punishment proposed by the EU term president Portugal
- MARCH 28, 2000PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
Executive Secretary Ronaldo B
Executive Secretary Ronaldo B
- MARCH 24, 2000PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
President Estrada declared an 11 month moratorium on...
President Estrada declared an 11 month moratorium on 18 out of 959 death convicts awaiting execution by lethal injection out of respect for the world-wide celebration of the Jubilee Year
- MARCH 1, 2000RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Russian Justice Minister Yuriy Chayka at the headquarters...
Russian Justice Minister Yuriy Chayka at the headquarters of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg said that the moratorium on the death penalty remains valid in Russia, and since Chechnya is a part of Russia, the moratorium extends to its territory too
- FEBRUARY 10, 2000United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Federal moratorium on executions (House)
Federal moratorium on executions (House)
- FEBRUARY 1, 2000PennsylvaniaDEATH PENALTY
Testifying at the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee...
Testifying at the Pennsylvania Senate Judiciary Committee in the hearing on a bill to impose a 2-year moratorium on the state's death penalty, former state Attorney General Ernie Preate testified in favour of a moratorium, citing the politicisation of the
- JANUARY 31, 2000United StatesDEATH PENALTY
Moratorium on executions declared in Illinois
Moratorium on executions declared in Illinois
- JANUARY 1, 2000KyrgyzstanDEATH 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, 2000RussiaDEATH 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, 2000AzerbaijanDEATH 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, 2000GeorgiaDEATH PENALTY
In 1993 Georgia introduced a moratorium that was lifted...
In 1993 Georgia introduced a moratorium that was lifted for a while in 1995
- JANUARY 1, 2000ItalyDEATH PENALTY
The Constitution approved in 1948 abolished the death...
The Constitution approved in 1948 abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes
- DECEMBER 17, 1999North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
The most recent (eighty-fourth) person to be freed...
The most recent (eighty-fourth) person to be freed from death row in the U
- DECEMBER 10, 1999AlbaniaDEATH PENALTY
On December 10, the head of the Constitutional Court,...
On December 10, the head of the Constitutional Court, Fehmi Abdiu, declared that: "all articles of the penal code in peacetime that provide the death penalty are unconstitutional
- DECEMBER 10, 1999Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
On December 10, Human Rights Minister Leonard She Okitundu...
On December 10, Human Rights Minister Leonard She Okitundu announced a moratorium on all executions to mark the 51st anniversary of the international human rights charter
- NOVEMBER 24, 1999ItalyDEATH PENALTY
On November 24, following the European Union's decision...
On November 24, following the European Union's decision not to put the resolution presented at the UN General Assembly to the vote, the Italian Senate unanimously approved a motion, first signatory Ersilia Salvato, engaging the Government to take action w
- NOVEMBER 15, 1999Congo - KinshasaDEATH PENALTY
On November 15, the Third Committee of the General...
On November 15, the Third Committee of the General Assembly expressed its concern at the adverse impact of continuing conflict and the worrying human rights situation in the eastern part of the country, throughout which rights are violated by massacres, s