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
- MAY 18, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. VICTIMS DEMAND HARSH SENTENCE AGAINST BESLAN HOSTAGE-TAKER
relatives of those killed in the Beslan school massacre called for a harsh sentence -- even death -- as the reading out of a guilty verdict against the sole-surviving hostage-taker entered its third day.
- MAY 16, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. BESLAN REBEL COMMITTED TERRORISM, JUDGE
a Russian judge said the only surviving member of the group that seized a school and 1,300 hostages in the town of Beslan in 2004 had committed an act of terrorism, as he began reading his verdict in the trial.
- MAY 11, 2006United NationsDEATH PENALTY
UNITED NATIONS. UN ELECTS 47 NATIONS TO NEW HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
six nations with poor human rights records are among those that have been elected to a new Human Rights Council at the United Nations, although notorious violators that had belonged to the predecessor Human Rights Commission did not succeed in winning pla
- APRIL 13, 2006IranDEATH PENALTY
NETHERLANDS. IRANIAN GAYS CAN STAY - FOR THE TIME BEING
the Netherlands Parliament has rebuffed a call by Immigration Minister Rita Verdonk to end a moratorium on the deportation of gay asylum seekers from Iran.
- MARCH 9, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. ‘VOICE OF BESLAN’ AGAINST BRINGING BACK DEATH PENALTY
the public organization ‘The Voice of Beslan’ objected to the idea of suspending the death penalty moratorium currently in force in Russia.
- FEBRUARY 28, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY SHOULD BE LIFTED, COMMUNIST PARTY LEADER
Russian Communist Party leader Gennady Zyuganov assessed Russia's membership of the Council of Europe as positive, but suggested that Russia should lift its moratorium on the death penalty in the near future.
- FEBRUARY 24, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. RUSSIANS IN FAVOUR OF CAPITAL PUNISHMENT, POLL
seventy-four percent of Russian citizens interviewed in a survey said they considered death sentences acceptable, 15% took the opposite view, and ten per cent were undecided.
- FEBRUARY 9, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. RUSSIA ASKS DEATH PENALTY FOR BESLAN HOSTAGE-TAKER
Deputy Prosecutor-General Nikolai Shepel asked judges to pass the death penalty on the sole surviving hostage-taker from the 2004 Beslan school massacre that killed more than 300 people, half of them children.
- FEBRUARY 9, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. DECISION TO SENTENCE BESLAN TERRORIST TO DEATH SLAMMED
Russian human rights organizations slammed the decision to sentence Nurpashi Kulayev to death.
- FEBRUARY 9, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. DUMA NOT TO RESUME DEATH PENALTY FOR BESLAN TERRORIST
the Russian State Duma will not lift the moratorium on the death penalty to punish Nurpasha Kulayev, the only surviving terrorist who participated in the Beslan school seizure in September 2004, vice speaker of the lower house of the Russian parliament Vl
- FEBRUARY 9, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
RUSSIA. SENIOR MPS SPEAK UP ON DEATH PENALTY FOR TERRORIST
Pavel Krasheninnikov, head of the State Duma's committee on civil, criminal, arbitration and procedural law, said that prosecutors' request for the death penalty for the man being tried for involvement in the Beslan terrorist attack that killed 331 people
- JANUARY 25, 2006New JerseyDEATH PENALTY
EUROPEAN UNION. EU PRESIDENT AUSTRIA WELCOMES US DEATH PENALTY DECISION
EU Council President Austria welcomed a decision by the US state of New Jersey to suspend the death penalty.
- JANUARY 19, 2006CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
CALIFORNIA, USA. CALIFORNIA DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM BILL STALLS
state lawmakers blocked a bill that would bar the state from carrying out death sentences for two years.
- JANUARY 17, 2006IndiaDEATH PENALTY
INDIA. PUNJAB RIGHTS FORUM CALLS FOR MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY
the Punjab Rights Forum (PRF) appealed to President Abdul Kalam to implement a moratorium on the death penalty in India.
- JANUARY 16, 2006VirginiaDEATH PENALTY
a bill to propose a moratorium on the death penalty in Virginia has failed before...
a bill to propose a moratorium on the death penalty in Virginia has failed before a Senate committee. Richmond Democrat Henry Marsh's bill died on a voice vote.
- JANUARY 12, 2006New JerseyDEATH PENALTY
NEW JERSEY, USA. NEW JERSEY SUSPENDS DEATH PENALTY
New Jersey lawmakers have voted to suspend executions while a study commission examines the fairness and expense of the state's death penalty.
- JANUARY 10, 2006KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
EUROPEAN UNION. EU SUPPORTS KYRGYZ MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY
the European Union has welcomed Kyrgyzstan's decision to prolong its moratorium on the death penalty.
- JANUARY 10, 2006CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
the Assembly's Public Safety committee approved a bill that would impose a 2-year moratorium on death sentences in California
the Assembly's Public Safety committee approved a bill that would impose a 2-year moratorium on death sentences in California, allowing time for a state commission on executions to complete its review of the system.
- JANUARY 9, 2006CaliforniaDEATH PENALTY
CALIFORNIA, USA. MORATORIUM BILL GAINS BROAD SUPPORT FROM LAW ENFORCEMENT, PROSECUTORS AND JUDGES
a group of 40 law enforcement officers, current and former prosecutors, and judges at the state and federal level have urged California lawmakers to enact a temporary halt to executions in the state while a commission examines the accuracy and fairness of
- JANUARY 1, 2006South AfricaDEATH PENALTY
The death penalty was abolished in South Africa on June 6...
The death penalty was abolished in South Africa on June 6...
- JANUARY 1, 2006RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Russia is committed to abolishing the death penalty as a member of the Council of Europe
Russia is committed to abolishing the death penalty as a member of the Council of Europe
- JANUARY 1, 2006ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Italy became totally abolitionist in 1994, when the death penalty was abolished from the Military Codes.
Italy became totally abolitionist in 1994, when the death penalty was abolished from the Military Codes.
- JANUARY 1, 2006MoldovaDEATH PENALTY
Moldova abolished the death penalty for all crimes in December 1995...
Moldova abolished the death penalty for all crimes in December 1995 but the Constitution retains it for crimes committed during war or with an inevitable threat of war.
- JANUARY 1, 2006GeorgiaDEATH PENALTY
Georgia abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 1997.
Georgia abolished the death penalty for all crimes in 1997.
- JANUARY 1, 2006PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
On June 24, 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed a law abolishing the death penalty.
On June 24, 2006, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo signed a law abolishing the death penalty.
- JANUARY 1, 2006KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
On December 29, 2005 Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev pledged to eliminate the death penalty...
On December 29, 2005 Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev pledged to eliminate the death penalty...
- DECEMBER 29, 2005KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
Kyrgyz President Kurmanbek Bakiyev
- DECEMBER 22, 2005KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
KYRGYZSTAN. EU URGES KYRGYZSTAN TO EXTEND DEATH PENALTY MORATORIUM
the European Union urged Kyrgyzstan to extend a death penalty moratorium until the country passed a law abolishing it.
- DECEMBER 20, 2005ItalyDEATH PENALTY
ITALY. DECEMBER 31 DEDICATED TO ‘THE LAST DAY’
Hands Off Cain headquarters in Rome hosted the presentation of “The Last Day” (“Ultimo giorno”), a day of television dedicated exlusively to the death penalty, to be aired on December 31, 2005, on the satellite chanel ‘Planet’ from 7:30 am till midnight.
- DECEMBER 16, 2005North KoreaDEATH PENALTY
UNITED NATIONS. UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY ADOPTS NORTH KOREA RESOLUTION
the UN General Assembly officially adopted a resolution criticizing human rights abuses in North Korea, with 88 votes for, 21 against and 60 abstentions.