Feb. 20
GLOBAL:
Stepping Back From Capital Punishment
In December, the United Nations General Assembly voted overwhelmingly for a
global moratorium on the death penalty. This 4th such vote in 5 years was
supported by a record 111 nations.
Yet in the 1st month of 2013, Saudi Arabia beheaded 9 people. In recent weeks,
Yemen has sentenced a juvenile offender to death, fueling hunger strikes by
scores of imprisoned children. Iran has reportedly begun imposing death
sentences for petty criminals accused of robbery.
Elsewhere, a court in Indonesia, where there have been no state executions
since 2008, sentenced a British grandmother to death for drug trafficking -
reportedly to gasps of disbelief in the courtroom. Zimbabwe has hired a hangman
after 7 years of searching, while Sri Lanka, which has not carried out an
execution since 1976, has reportedly recruited 2 executioners who are
undergoing special training.
In the United States, the trend is toward fewer executions and death sentences,
with more states repealing the death penalty. Nevertheless, in 2012 there were
43 executions and 77 death sentences.
Such developments make for grim reading. However, we at the International
Commission against the Death Penalty - an independent body opposed to capital
punishment in all cases - remain hopeful. It is clear that the world is
becoming an increasingly lonely place for states that practice executions.
The United Nations call for a moratorium on executions is underpinned by a
global trend toward abolition that has dramatically gathered pace in recent
years. One hundred and five countries have repealed capital punishment in their
laws and others no longer carry out executions.
According to the United Nations, over 150 countries have abolished the death
penalty in law or practice. All across humanity's diverse and sprawling
community - encompassing all major cultures, religions and regions - there is
growing understanding that this abhorrent practice has no place in modern
justice systems.
Quite simply, the death penalty does much harm and no good. It is inherently
cruel, risks execution of the innocent, and is ineffective at deterring violent
crime. States that have abolished capital punishment often have lower murder
rates than those that have yet to do so.
Much remains to be done, not least because a handful of states remain willing
to risk international outrage, controversy and isolation by persisting with
this cruel, inhuman and degrading practice. Iran, Saudi Arabia and Yemen - all
in the global spotlight in recent weeks - are accompanied by China, Iraq, North
Korea and the United States as the world's most prolific executioners year on
year.
As the United Nation's Human Rights Council meets in Geneva on Monday, we are
bringing together high-level government representatives to assess why and how
the death penalty should be abolished. Our guests will include foreign
ministers and senior officials from Argentina, Norway, Spain, Switzerland and
other nations. We will also hear from Kyung-wha Kang, the U.N. deputy high
commissioner for human rights, and the U.N. secretary general, Ban Ki-moon.
Ultimately, experience from all over the world demonstrates that the death
penalty is not just cruel, irrevocable and a violation of the right to life. It
is a toxic and destructive punishment that damages society by endorsing
violence and by causing injustice and suffering.
As more countries conclude that the only place for capital punishment is in the
history books, the shrinking group of executing states looks set to become ever
more isolated. The challenge for their leaders is to show political courage and
foresight, and to bring their laws into the modern age by immediately
suspending use of the death penalty, as a first step toward full abolition.
(source: Mohammed Bedjaoui is a former foreign minister of Algeria and a former
judge at the International Court of Justice. Ruth Dreifuss is a former
president of the Swiss Confederation. Federico Mayor is a former director
general of Unesco and a former minister of education and science of Spain. The
writers are members of the International Commission against the Death
Penalty----New York Times)
LEBANON:
Lebanon's Military Court demands death penalty for former information minister
The Lebanese Military Court's investigation judge has demanded the death
penalty for former Information and Tourism Minister Michel Samaha for planning
terrorist attacks in the country, the local news website Naharnet reported on
Wednesday.
Earlier, the court demanded the death penalty in absentia for Syrian Security
Chief Maj. Gen. Ali Mamlouk, who is another defendant in the case. Mamlouk was
allegedly involved in smuggling explosives into Lebanon from Syria. They were
found in a car belonging to Samaha, who has been under arrest since August
2012.
According to the Lebanese Prosecutor General's office, the investigation has
revealed that the 2 men planned to carry out terrorist attacks in public
places.
(source: Rapsinews)
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