The European Union campaigns towards the
universal abolition of the death penalty. This stance is rooted in
the belief in the inherent dignity of all human beings and the
inviolability of the human person, regardless of the crime
committed.
Abolition of the death penalty is a requirement
for countries seeking EU membership. All candidate countries (see
regular reports on the
accession countries) have
acceded to
Protocol No. 6 to the European
Convention on Human Rights, concerning the Abolition of the Death
Penalty. In addition, EU Member
States are all signatories to
Protocol 13 to the ECHR, concerning
the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances,
which was adopted in Vilnius in May 2002. This treaty explicitly
bans the death penalty in all circumstances, including in war-time.
However, despite a global trend towards the
abolition of the death penalty, a large number of executions are
still taking place and
many countries
retain the capital punishment de facto or in their legislation.
In 1998 the EU decided, as an integral part of
its human rights policy, to strengthen its international
activities in opposition to the death penalty. The EU drew up
policy guidelines
for demarches (or representations) and other actions it
will take on capital punishment in multilateral fora and towards
third countries. These guidelines provide a set of criteria for
making representations and outline minimum standards to be applied
in countries retaining the death penalty. The EU also presses,
where relevant, for moratoria to be introduced as a first step
towards the abolition of the death penalty.
This EU commitment was reaffirmed in December
2000 at the European Council Summit in Nice, with the solemn
proclamation of the
EU Charter on Fundamental Rights.
In the meantime, the Charter has become the second part of the
EU Draft Constitutional Treaty
which is currently under consideration for adoption by the
European Council. The Charter reaffirms the right of everyone to
life and the prohibition of the death penalty (Article II-2). It
also states that no one may be removed, expelled or extradited to
a State where there is a serious risk that he or she would be
subjected to the death penalty (Article II-19).
EU Action against the Death Penalty
The EU maintains a high level of activity
against the death penalty and has different instruments at its
disposal. Initiatives at the political level include
representations and declarations. In addition, the EU also
provides support on a more practical level through project support
under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights.
Political action
General representations consist in the EU
raising the issue of the death penalty in its dialogue with third
countries. Such demarches occur particularly when a country's
policy on the death penalty is in flux, e.g. where an official or
de facto moratorium on the death penalty is likely to be
ended, or where the death penalty is to be reintroduced through
legislation. Similarly, a demarche or public statement may
be made where countries take steps towards abolition of the death
penalty.
Individual representations are used in
specific cases where the European Union becomes aware of
individual death penalty sentences which violate minimum
standards. These standards provide that capital punishment cannot
be imposed on those who were under the age of 18 when committing
the crime, pregnant women or new mothers, and persons who are
mentally disabled.
Nigeria is a country where the EU has made a
number of representations.
Individual representations and cruel forms of
capital punishment in Nigeria
The Commission attaches a great interest
and is deeply concerned about the persistence of the death
penalty in Nigeria. The EU Guidelines state that those States
which carry out the death penalty must do so in a manner which
inflicts the minimum possible suffering, and therefore exclude
practices such as stoning. Such methods of execution, which
are specifically designed to increase the suffering of victims,
not only constitute a violation of the right to life, but are
also the most extreme and cruel form of torture, and as such
are prohibited by the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights (ICCPR).
President Romano Prodi
has written to Nigerian
President Obasanjo, expressing his concern with regard to the
practice of stoning. The issue was also raised with regard to
individual cases, such as that of Safiya Hussein. The EU
Presidency issued a declaration on 21 August 2002 noting that
the sentencing to death by stoning was manifestly incompatible
with the human rights conventions to which Nigeria is a
signatory.
As another example of EU action in
Nigeria, the Commission also closely monitored developments in
the case of Amina Lawal and welcomed her release in September
2003. |
Other Initiatives by the EU include the
encouragement of states to ratify and comply with international
human rights instruments relating to the death penalty.
International Fora
The EU is active in multilateral fora such as
the
United Nations Commission on
Human Rights (CHR). In
1999, following an EU initiative, the CHR adopted a resolution on
the question of the death penalty. The resolution calls on states
to accede to the
Second Optional Protocol
to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
This instrument is aimed at abolishing the death penalty and
ensuring that, in states where the death penalty has not yet been
abolished, it is only imposed for the most serious crimes and that
the Government concerned establishes a moratorium on executions.
Since 1999, at each of the CHR sessions in
Geneva, the EU has tabled a resolution on the death penalty.
The most recent resolution (CHR 2004/XX) dates
from 21 April 2004 and was adopted with a larger margin than the
previous one. Once more, the states that still retain the death
penalty were called upon to abolish the death penalty or impose a
moratorium on its use, and to comply with the minimum standards
established by the United Nation's Economic, Social and Cultural
Council in 1984.
The EU also makes international declarations
and statements. One recent such example is the
Declaration from the
Presidency on behalf of the EU welcoming the abolition of the
death penalty in the Independent State of Samoa,
on 9 March 2004. In addition, the EU
sets out its opposition to the death penalty each year at the
Human Dimension Implementation Meetings of the
Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE).
The
European Parliament
is a long-standing opponent of the death penalty, and is actively
engaged in the international campaign against the death penalty.
Its
resolutions
and
annual human rights reports
regularly reaffirm this position.
The
Council of Europe
also pursues actively this issue, for
example through its Parliamentary Assembly, which recently adopted
a
Recommendation
concerning the abolition of the death penalty in Council of Europe
Observer States.
The first World Congress
against the Death Penalty, organised by the non-governmental
organisation
Ensemble contre la peine de
mort in June 2001 in Strasbourg,
was the first of a series of events bringing together
international experts, NGOs and former death penalty convicts. On
that occasion, a speech was delivered on behalf of
Commissioner Chris Patten.
This event was also co-organised by the
European Parliament and the Council of Europe. A second
World Congress Against the
Death Penalty will be held in
Montreal, Canada, in October 2004.
The first
World Day Against the Death
Penalty, organised by the
World Coalition Against the
Death Penalty, took place
on 10 October 2003. On this occasion, the EU reaffirmed in a
declaration its longstanding and firm position against the use of
the death penalty in all circumstances and issued a joint
press release
with the coalition.
Country cases and demarches
Since 2001, in accordance with the EU
Guidelines on the Death Penalty, the EU has been carrying out
demarches, raising the issue of the death penalty in many
countries, such as the United States of America – at both state
and federal level-, the Palestinian Authority, Lebanon, Malaysia,
Japan, Guinea, Sri Lanka, Botswana, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan,
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Indonesia, India, Nigeria, Senegal, the
Democratic Republic of Congo, Burkina Faso, Swaziland and Niger,
Burma, Kuwait, Philippines, Indonesia, Sudan, Tajikistan, Nigeria,
Uganda, Sudan, Qatar, Belize, Barbados and Laos.
EU action against the death penalty in the USA
In 2001, 2002 and 2003, representations were made in the
United States, in compliance with the EU Guidelines on the
Death Penalty, at both the federal and state level on behalf
of a number of individuals.
In February 2000, the EU urged the USA to
withdraw its reservation on Article 6 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which
prohibits the death penalty for juvenile offenders.
Furthermore, the EU called upon the USA to respect the strict
conditions under which the death penalty may be used, which
are set forth in several international instruments. This
general representation was coupled with a Memorandum
presenting an overview of the principles, experiences,
policies and alternative solutions guiding the abolitionist
movement in Western Europe.
The Memorandum
was delivered to the relevant federal and state authorities.
Since 2001, the EU has raised its level of
intervention in the US through the submission of "Amicus
Curiae" (“Friends of the Court”) briefs to the US Supreme
Court. An Amicus Curiae brief is filed by someone who is not
party to the case. It provides information on legal matters
and is often filed in an attempt to “lobby” the Supreme Court.
In 2001 for example, the EU submitted an Amicus Curiae brief
in a case involving a mentally retarded person (Ernest
McCarver vs. North Carolina). In June 2002, the Supreme Court
dismissed the case on the grounds that North Carolina had
passed a law prohibiting the use of the death penalty against
people with mental retardation. It is significant that, in its
decision, the Supreme Court referred to the Amicus Curiae
brief submitted by the EU.
There have been a number of positive
developments in the US, demonstrating progress towards
increased respect of minimum standards. However, the U.S.
continues to be amongst a handful of nations with the highest
numbers of executions, and some states retain the death
penalty for juvenile and mentally-ill offenders.
For more information on specific EU action
on US death row cases, please click
here
(link to the EC Delegation in
Washington). |
Financial Support – The European Initiative for Democracy and
Human Rights
The political commitment of the EU is matched
by Community funding through the
European Initiative for
Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).
The Communication on
the European Union’s role in
promoting human rights and democratisation in third countries
of 8 May 2001 identified the abolition of the death penalty as
one of four thematic priorities for assistance under the EIDHR.
The support has targeted, inter alia, raising awareness in
retentionist countries through public education, outreach to
influence public opinion, studies on how States’ death penalty
systems comply with minimum standards, efforts for securing the
access of death row inmates to appropriate levels of legal support
and training of lawyers.
The Anti Death Penalty Campaign in the Philippines – A project led by
the Free Legal Assistance
Group (FLAG)
This successful project consisted of a
campaign to abolish the death penalty through litigation,
legislation, and public awareness activities. The centrepiece
of the campaign was the provision of legal services in 80
capital cases and the training of lawyers handling capital
cases through workshops and publications. Finally, the
campaign also included lobbying of the Congress and research
and information dissemination to influence public opinion.
The project provided free professional
legal services to death row convicts. It also worked towards
educating decision-makers in the Philippines on the issue of
capital punishment, which led to many of them becoming
abolitionists. Finally, many young private sector lawyers
subsequently became volunteers and are now providing legal
services free of charge to indigent death row convicts, thus
ensuring the sustainability of the legal assistance activities.
Total budget: 320.205 €, including 200.205
€ from the EC.
Creation of a training programme to improve
conditions of detention and support reforms of the penal
system worldwide – A project led by
Penal Reform International
(PRI)
The project aimed to constitute and train a
team of experts, which in turn would provide assistance,
counselling and training in the field of penal reform to
prison and judicial authorities, NGOs and parliamentarians
worldwide.
The impact of the training of trainers
programme and the support provided to the development of
training capacity at the national level ensured the
sustainability of the project’s results and a constant
progression towards the stated aims.
Total budget: 995.671€, including
878.359€ from the EC.
|
In 2002, a call for proposals under the EIDHR
was launched to specifically support NGO actions in view of the
abolition of the death penalty. 7 projects were selected for the
thematic priority “Support for the abolition of death penalty” and
a total of 4.447.328€ was allocated to these activities.
A new call for proposals will be launched in
2004, details of which can be found on the
EIDHR
website.
Title of the project |
Amount allocated |
The
Commonwealth Caribbean Death Penalty Project |
1.128.341€ |
Strengthening
the defence of death penalty cases in the People’s Republic of
China |
526.572 € |
Informing and
supporting strategies for replacing the death penalty |
905.480 € |
Soutien aux
défenseurs des droits de l’homme dans leur mobilisation en
faveur de l’abolition de la peine de mort - Support to human
rights defenders in favour of the abolition of the death
denalty |
611.200 € |
A Study of
How States’ Death Penalty Systems Comport with Minimum
Standards Designed to Protect Due Process and Fairness |
860.159 € |
Legal Tools
for Commonwealth Africa |
415.576 € |
TOTAL |
4.447.328 € |
More information on projects and future call for proposals can
be found on the
EuropeAid Co-operation Office
website.
Treaties and agreements relating to the death
penalty
International treaties and agreements
Regional treaties and agreements
Useful
links
See also:
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