MR VAN DER LINDEN,

PRESIDENT OF THE PARLIAMENTARY ASSEMBLY,

SPEECH ON THE OCCASION OF THE 3rd WORLD CONGRESS

AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY

(Paris, 1 February 2007)

Friends, colleagues, ladies and gentlemen,

I stand before you today with a great hope in my heart.

My hope is that this Congress will mark a turning point in the struggle to abolish the death penalty, once and for all, throughout the world.

Of course, I am proud of the Parliamentary Assembly’s success in making the Council of Europe a de facto death penalty free zone.

The Council of Europe bases its arguments against the death penalty on the universal respect for human dignity, as expressed through fundamental human rights; arguments that are now a part of the binding caselaw of the European Court of Human Rights.

We do not see abolition in Europe, however, as the end; it is only the beginning.

Our achievement is an example of what can be done throughout the world, with the right conviction and political courage.

The Parliamentary Assembly is already taking its arguments to the world stage, using our direct links with politicians and civil society to campaign for abolition in, for example, the United States, Japan and Kazakhstan.

In Paris next month, our Standing Committee will hold a debate to support Italy’s initiative in the United Nations to abolish the death penalty globally.

I am also greatly appreciative of the highly symbolic step, taken by the Assemblée national, to inscribe abolition of the death penalty in the French Constitution.

This Congress will be an opportunity to coordinate all these efforts, to combine our moral and political weight and to renew our enthusiasm and determination.

Today is a day for raising our voices in unison:

“Death is not justice!”