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Resolution 1807 (2011)
The death penalty in Council of Europe member and observer states: a violation of human rights
1. The Parliamentary Assembly reiterates
its principled opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances. It
takes pride in its successful contribution to eradicating this inhuman
and degrading punishment from almost all of Europe, by having made
abolition of the death penalty a condition for accession to the
Council of Europe.
2. European experience has shown conclusively that the death
penalty is not needed to prevent an increase in violent crime and
that political leaders who led the way towards abolition did not
suffer any backlash from public opinion.
3. The Assembly urges the United States of America and Japan,
as observer states, and Belarus, which aspires to become a member
state of the Council of Europe, to join the growing consensus of
democratic countries that protect human rights and human dignity
by abolishing the death penalty.
4. As regards the United States of America, the Assembly:
4.1. congratulates those American
states which have recently abolished the death penalty (in particular,
New Mexico, New Jersey and New York State) and invites others, as
well as the federal jurisdiction, to follow their lead;
4.2. regrets that the arbitrary and discriminatory application
of the death penalty in the United States and the public scandals
surrounding the different methods of execution used (lethal injection,
electric chair, firing squad) have stained the reputation of this
country, which its friends expect to be a beacon for human rights;
4.3. considers that, particularly in the present time of budgetary
constraints, scarce resources are better used to improve crime prevention
and to increase the rate of clearance of serious crimes rather than
to fight protracted legal battles in order to put to death individual
perpetrators.
5. Also, as regards the Avena judgment (Mexico
v. United States of America) of the International Court
of Justice, the Assembly urges that:
5.1. the federal legislature pass legislation enabling those
Mexican nationals condemned to death without having been provided
with the consular assistance mandated by the Vienna Convention on Consular
Relations to be retried following the correct procedures;
5.2. all judicial authorities in the United States be given
the possibility to ensure that, in future, foreign nationals who
may be subjected to the death penalty are provided with appropriate
consular assistance, in compliance with the international obligations
of the United States under the Vienna Convention.
6. As regards Japan, the Assembly:
6.1. is deeply disappointed by the missed opportunity of the
presence in recent governments of openly abolitionist ministers
of justice. De facto moratoria were
unfortunately followed by a continuation of the atrocious practice
of executions carried out under a shroud of secrecy and taking the
death row inmates and their families by surprise;
6.2. expects that the recent introduction of the lay judge
system in Japan will contribute to increasing popular awareness
both of the cruelty of the death penalty system and its fallibility,
thus promoting its eventual abolition.
7. As regards Belarus, the Assembly, recalling its Resolutions 1671 (2009) and 1727 (2010):
7.1. strongly condemns continued
executions since 2008, which have caused much damage to the credibility
of Belarus’ bid to move closer to the family of democratic European
states which protect human rights and human dignity;
7.2. urges the competent authorities to declare a moratorium
on executions without further delay and take the necessary steps
to abolish the death penalty in law.