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"Capital punishment must be totally removed in all countries which
strive to uphold democracy, the rule of law and human rights," says PACE
President
Strasbourg, 10.10.2006 – "Capital punishment must be totally removed
once and for all from the legislation of all countries which strive to
uphold democracy, the rule of law and human rights," the President of
the Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE), René van der
Linden, said today to mark the World Day Against the Death Penalty.
"The death penalty has been abolished in all our member states, with
just one exception, the Russian Federation", Mr van der Linden said. He
urged the Russian authorities to show, vis-à-vis public opinion in
their country, the same determination and persuasiveness displayed by
the other Council of Europe member states, which had the political will
and courage to abolish the death penalty despite the potential
unpopularity of the measure. "The sentence of life imprisonment of the
only surviving Beslan terrorist was a clear signal of Russia’s respect
of a de facto moratorium on the death penalty, but I hope that this
moratorium could soon result in a de jure abolition of the death
penalty," he said.
At the same time, he warned against all attempts to launch discussion on
the re-introduction of the death penalty in Europe.
He also recalled that at its June 2006 session, the Assembly had noted
with concern that the separatist territories, not recognised
internationally, of Abkhazia, South Ossetia and the Dnestr Moldavian
Republic do not observe the abolition of the death penalty by Georgia
and Moldova respectively. "The Assembly believes that the death penalty
should be abolished in these territories and that the sentences of all
prisoners currently on death row in Abkhazia and the Dnestr Moldavian
Republic should be immediately commuted to terms of imprisonment in
order to put an end to the cruel and inhuman treatment of those who have
been kept on death row for years in a state of uncertainty as to their
ultimate fate," he stressed.
In respect of countries having observer status with the Council of
Europe, he referred to earlier PACE Resolutions 1349 (2003)
< D/Documents/AdoptedText/ta03/ERES1349.htm> and 1253 (2001)
< D 1/ERES1253.htm> , in which the Assembly calls on Japan
and the United States to place an immediate moratorium on executions and
to take the necessary steps to abolish the death penalty. "The Assembly
finds it inadmissible that these appeals have gone unheeded and that
both Japan and the United States continue to apply the death penalty and
violate their fundamental obligation to uphold human rights."
He finally called on all countries in the world which have not yet
abolished the death penalty to follow the lead given by the 46-nation
Council of Europe, a de facto "death-penalty-free zone".
Press Release
Parliamentary Assembly Communication Unit
Ref: 575a06
Tel: +33 3 88 41 31 93
Fax :+33 3 90 21 41 34
[email protected]
internet:
The Parliamentary Assembly brings together 315 members from the national
parliaments of the 46 member states.
President: René van der Linden (Netherlands, EPP/CD); Secretary
General of the Assembly: Mateo Sorinas.
Political Groups: SOC (Socialist Group); EPP/CD (Group of the European
People’s Party); ALDE (Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe);
EDG (European Democratic Group); UEL (Group of the Unified European
Left).