EU to push for abolition of death penalty at Madrid

The European Parliament's Subcommittee on Human Rights on Thursday discussed the EU's revised guidelines on death penalty with representatives of the Amnesty International and the European External Action Service (EEAS or EU External Service). "The Guidelines reinforce the fight against capital punishment. However, some setbacks, notably in Asia-Pacific and the Middle East, cause great concern," said Barbara Lochbihler, chair of the Subcommittee. "In India, Japan and Pakistan for instance, the use of the death penalty has been resumed, after a considerable time of non-implementation" she noted. "Our objective is to support the global trend towards the total abolition of the death penalty, putting," she added. Lochbihler announced that from 12 to 15 June the Fifth World Congress against the death penalty will be held in Madrid, Spain and added that "it will be a good occasion to emphasize the EU commitment to the fight against the death penalty." Victoria Correa from the EEAS said the new text on the death penalty guideline has been sent to all EU embassies around the world and have been asked them to make this public. Referring to the Madrid Congress, she said "this is a key event in the agenda to abolish the death penalty. It is expected to crystallize an important momentum but also provide guidance and strategies for the future." "We will be defending strongly against capital punishment. It will also be an opportunity to interact with civil society and decide on possible synergies, " she stressed. EU special representative for human rights Stavros Lambridis will represent the 27-member bloc at the congress. penalty. On his part, David Nickens from the Amnesty International office in Brussels spoke about the Amnesty's annual report on death penalty released a few weeks ago. He noted that in 2012, executions were carried out in 21 countries in the world which is the same figures as 2011. 680 people were executed in 2012 but this number does not include executions carried out in China which, he said, executes thousands of people every year but does not release any statistics on the death penalty. Countries where death penalty was imposed in 2012 actually fell to 57 countries from the previous year of 63, he noted. The five biggest countries where executions are carried out remain the same, China, Iran, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and the USA, he said. Lochbihler said that she has discussed the issue with officials from Muslim countries including with the Saudi Justice Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Kareem Al-Eissa who recently addressed the European Parliament where religion plays a strong role. "Very often the reason is given that it is a contradiction which cannot be solved with the Quran that you abolish the death penalty," she said. Nickens remarked that this is often the line pursued by authorities in Muslim countries. "However you will get a different line and interpretation if you discuss with civil society and activists," he said, and encouraged the EP to discuss the death penalty issue in Muslim countries with those groups. Later, the Committee also held a closed-door meeting with a group of 20 parliamentarians from Central Asia, Russia, Africa and the Middle East including Jordan, Morocco and Tunisia on the abolition of the death penalty. The press was not allowed to attend this meeting.