Summary: January 19, 2004: Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the European Union concerning Kazakhstan moratorium on the death penalty (published in Rome on 23 December 2003) (Brussels)
The European Union welcomes the moratorium on the death penalty introduced in Kazakhstan by presidential decree on 18 December 2003. The EU notes with satisfaction that this moratorium has taken immediate effect, and will stand until a decision is made on complete abolition of the death penalty in Kazakhstan.
The EU considers that the abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. It reaffirms its objective of working towards universal abolition of the death penalty, and considers that the introduction of moratoria on executions is an important step towards that aim.
The EU considers that the decision of President Nazarbayev represents a fundamental advance in the promotion of human rights in Kazakhstan, and an important contribution towards the universal abolition of the death penalty. The EU encourages the government of Kazakhstan to continue its valuable cooperation with the OSCE in the democratic development of its country.
The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European economic area align themselves with this declaration.
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