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 6, 2004IndonesiaDEATH PENALTY
Having learnt that the Indonesian authorities intended...
Having learnt that the Indonesian authorities intended to carry out an execution and that the execution was imminent, the Dutch EU Presidency noted in a declaration that, by so doing, Indonesia would be putting an end to the de facto moratorium on the dea
- JULY 28, 2004KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
It was reported that the moratorium on the death penalty...
It was reported that the moratorium on the death penalty that had been in act in Kazakhstan since the beginning of 2004 had not caused an increase in crime in the country
- JULY 27, 2004KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
The introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty...
The introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty in Kazakhstan had not helped resolve all problems facing prison inmates with death penalty sentences, said Ivar Vikki, head of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe's center in Almaty
- JULY 27, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
The Italian government accepted a motion to withhold...
The Italian government accepted a motion to withhold co-operation with the Iraqi authorities in cases in which the death penalty may be applied, even for former dictator Saddam Hussein
- JULY 23, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Senate deputy speakers Cesare Salvi and Lamberto Dini...
Senate deputy speakers Cesare Salvi and Lamberto Dini and Senators-for-life Francesco Cossiga and Rita Levi-Montalcini were the first signatories of the motion in which the Italian Senate asks the government to withhold collaboration from the Iraqi author
- JULY 22, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
HOC Secretary General Sergio D'Elia and Elisabetta...
HOC Secretary General Sergio D'Elia and Elisabetta Zamparutti, editor of HOC's 2004 Report on the Death Penalty Worldwide, brought the capital punishment issue to the attention of the Human Rights Committee of the Italian Chamber of Representatives
- JUNE 16, 2004TajikistanDEATH PENALTY
The European Union issued a press release regarding...
The European Union issued a press release regarding progress in Tajikistan towards a moratorium on the death penalty
- JUNE 16, 2004SpainDEATH PENALTY
As the Spanish Parliament debated the signing of protocols...
As the Spanish Parliament debated the signing of protocols to the European Convention on Human Rights, and the inclusion of the same in the new European Constitution, Catalonian Parliamentary Group (Convergence and Union) MP Jordi Xucla I Costa urged a mo
- JUNE 14, 2004KyrgyzstanDEATH PENALTY
The human rights commissioner of Kyrgyzstan, Tursunbai...
The human rights commissioner of Kyrgyzstan, Tursunbai Bakir-uulu, proposed introducing a moratorium on the death penalty
- JUNE 7, 2004UzbekistanDEATH PENALTY
A poll carried out by the Uzbek's Public Opinion Center...
A poll carried out by the Uzbek's Public Opinion Center revealed that residents of the country objected to imposing a moratorium on the death penalty or abolishing capital punishment
- JUNE 2, 2004TajikistanDEATH PENALTY
Tajikistan's lower house of parliament passed a moratorium...
Tajikistan's lower house of parliament passed a moratorium on carrying out the death penalty in the country
- MAY 27, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
Oliviero Toscani's new video clip against the death...
Oliviero Toscani's new video clip against the death penalty in promotion of Hands Off Cain's international campaign for a universal moratorium on executions established by the UN General Assembly, was shown this morning at the European Institute of Design
- MAY 17, 2004North CarolinaDEATH PENALTY
63 % of North Carolinians support a temporary suspension...
63 % of North Carolinians support a temporary suspension of executions while the state's capital punishment system is studied, according to a major statewide public opinion poll released today by the North Carolina Coalition for a Moratorium
- MAY 7, 2004TajikistanDEATH PENALTY
Tajikistani President Emomali Rakhmonov submitted for...
Tajikistani President Emomali Rakhmonov submitted for consideration of the lower house of the national parliament a draft law which would put into place a moratorium on executions
- APRIL 16, 2004European UnionDEATH PENALTY
Former Governor of Illinois and Hands Off Cain Honorary...
Former Governor of Illinois and Hands Off Cain Honorary President Georage Ryan made an urgent appeal for an international moratorium on capital executions at the UN Commission on Human Rights in Geneva
- MARCH 22, 2004ChinaDEATH PENALTY
Amnesty International called for a moratorium on the...
Amnesty International called for a moratorium on the death penalty in China, saying the country's dysfunctional criminal justice system meant many innocent people were being executed
- MARCH 11, 2004BelarusDEATH PENALTY
Belarus may announce a moratorium on the death penalty,...
Belarus may announce a moratorium on the death penalty, or even abolish it, the Belarussian Constitutional Court said
- MARCH 11, 2004KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a law...
Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed a law amending the country's Criminal Code, Criminal Proceedings Code and the Penal Code as a follow up to the decree signed by him on December 17, 2003, instituting the moratorium on capital punishment
- MARCH 9, 2004CubaDEATH PENALTY
Two groups of Cuban dissidents announced they were...
Two groups of Cuban dissidents announced they were starting a campaign to gather petitions for a moratorium on the death penalty on the communist-ruled island
- FEBRUARY 14, 2004ItalyDEATH PENALTY
HOC INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE FOR A MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS ENDS
February 14, 2004: the international two-day conference held in Rome and the concurrent meeting of HOC’s board of directors, ended Saturday.
- FEBRUARY 10, 2004RussiaDEATH PENALTY
Debates on death penalty for terrorism should be unemotional...
Debates on death penalty for terrorism should be unemotional and linked to the current events and Russia's international commitments, heads of Duma committees said
- JANUARY 28, 2004IranDEATH PENALTY
Hands Off Cain issued the following statement as Italian...
Hands Off Cain issued the following statement as Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini's official visit to Iran came to an end on January 27th
- JANUARY 20, 2004IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Governor signs death penalty reforms At the same time...
Governor signs death penalty reforms At the same time he signed into law a sweeping reform of Illinois' death penalty
- JANUARY 19, 2004KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
The EU made the following declaration, "The EU welcomes...
The EU made the following declaration, "The EU welcomes the moratorium on the death penalty introduced in Kazakhstan by presidential decree on 18 December 2003
- JANUARY 19, 2004European UnionDEATH PENALTY
The EU made the following declaration, "The EU welcomes...
The EU made the following declaration, "The EU welcomes the moratorium on the death penalty introduced in Kazakhstan by presidential decree on 18 December 2003
- JANUARY 19, 2004LebanonDEATH PENALTY
Regarding the executions which took place in Lebanon...
Regarding the executions which took place in Lebanon on January 17, Hands Off Cain General Secretary Sergio D'Elia said: "Europe's appeals against the resumption of executions in Lebanon would have been more credible and strong if the EU had presented and
- JANUARY 15, 2004European UnionDEATH PENALTY
Upon finding out that Lebanon was to resume executions...
Upon finding out that Lebanon was to resume executions following a six year break, by scheduling three executions for January 17, the European Union, in a statement, called on President Lahoud to reverse the decision to reinstate the death penalty
- JANUARY 6, 2004PhilippinesDEATH PENALTY
The Philippines was due to execute its first convicts...
The Philippines was due to execute its first convicts in January since lifting a nearly four-year moratorium on the death penalty, Bureau of Corrections chief Dionisio Santiago said
- JANUARY 6, 2004KazakhstanDEATH PENALTY
The European Union issued a statement welcoming the...
The European Union issued a statement welcoming the Kazakh leadership's decision to declare a moratorium on the death penalty
- JANUARY 1, 2004IllinoisDEATH PENALTY
Illinois does forbid the execution of the mentally...
Illinois does forbid the execution of the mentally retarded and juvenile offenders