European Day against the Death Penalty: panel discussion with Robert
Badinter and Bianca Jagger, photo exhibit
Strasbourg, 02.10.2008 – The Council of Europe and European Union will
mark the European Day against the Death Penalty, 10 October, with a
panel discussion from 11.00 am to 12.30 pm at the Council of Europe’s
Agora Building, featuring French former Minister of Justice and
anti-death penalty pioneer Senator Robert Badinter, international
activist and Goodwill Ambassador Bianca Jagger, Council of Europe
Secretary General Terry Davis and Swedish Human Rights Ambassador Jan
Nordlander.
Sponsored by both the Swedish Chairmanship of the Council of Europe’s
Committee of Ministers and the French Presidency of the European Union,
the panel will be moderated by Radio Television Serbia anchorwoman
Tatiana Bilankov. Streamed live on the Council of Europe website
() and broadcast on Alsatic TV, the panel will unveil a new
anti-death penalty video clip, produced by the Council of Europe. A
frank discussion of death penalty trends will include questions from
local students. An audio message from U.S. death row inmate Troy Davis
as delivered to Amnesty International will also be broadcast.
The European Day against the Death Penalty coincides with the World Day
against the Death Penalty and includes grass roots events all over
Europe, from Armenia to Ukraine. A special op-ed against the death
penalty, co-authored by Ministers of Foreign Affairs Carl Bildt and
Bernard Kouchner, on behalf of the Swedish Chairmanship of the Council
of Europe’s Committee of Ministers and the French Presidency of the
European Union, will also be published in major media across Europe.
Photo exhibit marking 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights
Immediately following the panel, the public is invited to attend a photo
exhibit to mark both the World Day against the Death Penalty and to
celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Organised by the French government, in partnership with Geo
Magazine and the French multimedia chain FNAC, the exhibit will feature
photos each related to the 30 articles of the Declaration. It will be
displayed simultaneously at the French Foreign Ministry, the Quai
d’Orsay.
* * *
The Death Penalty and the Council of Europe
Europe is today the only region in the world where the death penalty is
no longer applied. All the Council of Europe’s 47 member states have
either abolished capital punishment or instituted a moratorium on
executions. The Council of Europe played a leading role in the battle
for abolition, believing that the death penalty has no place in
democratic societies. This determination to eradicate the death penalty
was reflected in Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human
Rights. It followed an initiative from the Parliamentary Assembly to
abolish the death penalty in peacetime and was adopted in April 1983. In
2002, another important step was taken with the adoption of Protocol No.
13 on the abolition of capital punishment in all circumstances, even for
acts committed in time of war. The Council has made abolition of the
death penalty a prerequisite for membership. As a result, no execution
has taken place on the territory of the organisation’s member states
since 1997. The Parliamentary Assembly continues to monitor the capital
punishment issue. It has extended its action to countries enjoying
observer status with the Council, including Japan and the United States.
PRESS RELEASE
Council of Europe Press Division
Ref: 680a08
Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
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A political organisation set up in 1949, the Council of Europe works to
promote democracy and human rights continent-wide. It also develops
common responses to social, cultural and legal challenges in its 47
member states.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
