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CoE Secretary General Death penalty is a fatal form of injustice

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  • CoE Secretary General Death penalty is a fatal form of injustice

    Council of Europe Secretary General Death penalty is a fatal form of injustice


    Brussels, 10.10.2006 - Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of
    Europe and Franco Frattini, Vice President of the European Commission
    held today a joint press conference in Brussels to mark the World Day
    against the Death Penalty. On this occasion, Terry Davis said:

    "Death penalty is a fatal form of injustice and a fatal violation of
    human rights. You cannot have a genuinely civilised and humane society
    if the state is uncivilised and inhumane.

    Death penalty is barbaric. It does not deter crime. It does not help the
    victims of crime. It transforms murderers into martyrs. It transforms
    judicial errors into irreversible tragedies. The bottom line is - the
    next time that judicial error may be you.

    The European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols guarantee the
    right to life and prohibit torture, degrading and inhuman treatment.
    Death penalty violates that Convention.

    The Council of Europe has been working for the past 30 years to outlaw
    the death penalty in Europe. Since 1989, abolition has been set as a
    formal condition for accession for all new members. 45 of the 46 member
    states have formally abolished the death penalty. We expect the Russian
    Federation will soon follow suit. Meanwhile it has had a moratorium
    since it joined in 1996. As a result, there has not been a single
    execution in any member states of the Council of Europe for 10 years.
    In the whole of Europe, only Belarus is out of step.

    But, as far as I am concerned, the abolition of the death penalty is
    still an unfinished business. First, many Europeans are still in favour
    of the death penalty. This is not something we can ignore. We need to
    go out and explain to people why the death penalty is wrong, why it has
    been abolished and why it should stay abolished. This is an area where
    the Council of Europe and the European Commission can work together and,
    I hope, will work together.

    Second, we must look beyond Europe. Some of our closest friends and
    allies continue to execute people. We all know that the decision to
    abolish the death penalty must come from them. But until they decide to
    do so - and eventually, they will - we should not remain silent.
    Politely but persistently, we should encourage them to follow our
    example and say yes to justice but no to cruelty, torture and death."

    Press Release
    Council of Europe Press Division
    Ref: 576a06
    Tel: +33 (0)3 88 41 25 60
    Fax:+33 (0)3 88 41 39 11
    [email protected]
    internet: www.coe.int/press

    To receive our press releases by e-mail, contact :
    [email protected]

    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 46
    member states.
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