Celebration of World Day against the Death Penalty

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The European Commission joins today the celebration of the World Day against the Death Penalty.

On this occasion, a joint press conference has been held by European Commission Vice-President Franco Frattini and Mr Terry Davis, Secretary General of the Council of Europe, to support the celebration of the World Day against the Death Penalty.

Commissioner Frattini stated that "the administration of State killing via the judicial system serves no useful purpose in preventing crime but can have a brutalising effect on societies that inflict it".

The Commissioner for External Relations Mrs. Benita Ferrero-Waldner added that "we remain strongly committed to fight against the cruel and inhuman practice of the death penalty throughout the world and we call upon all third countries, that have not yet abolished capital punishment, to do so without further delay".

There are been constant progress towards worldwide abolition. There are at present 128 countries that are abolitionist in law and practice. Over 40 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes since 1990. They include countries in Africa (recent examples include Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire), the Americas (Canada, Paraguay, Mexico), Asia and the Pacific (Philippines, Bhutan, Samoa) and Europe and Central Asia (Armenia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Cyprus, Serbia and Montenegro, Turkey, Turkmenistan). In 2005, countries having abolished death penalty were 86, while in 1977, only 16 countries were abolitionist.

The Commission, together with the Council of Europe, will organise a top level international Conference on 10 October 2007 in order to support the promotion of universal abolition and to provide a European contribution to the annual World Day against the Death Penalty, which has taken place on 10 October since 2003.

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