Europe launches diplomatic offensive against the death penalty

Since 2007, October 10 is also the European Day Against the Death 
Penalty. Numerous European politicians have chosen this day to state 
their opposition to capital punishment.

On October 10, the European Union 27-state bloc and the Council of 
Europe (47 states) signed a joint declaration  confirming their 
commitment to continue to work towards the universal abolition of the 
death penalty.
The presidents of the European Parliament, of the Council and of the 
European Commission, on the EU side, and the president of the 
Parliamentary Assembly, the chairman of the Committee of Ministers 
and the secretary general of the Council of Europe took part in the 
ceremony.
European Commissioner for freedom, justice and security Jacques 
Barrot (pictured here on the right with European Parliament president 
Hans-Gert Pöttering) said: "Europe has created a "de facto" death 
penalty-free zone stretching from Iceland in the west to Vladivostok 
in the east and from Norway in the north to the south-east of Turkey 
– this is one of Europe's greatest achievements." He insisted that 
further efforts are necessary, adding: "This is the reason the 
European Commission works side by side with NGOs that are active in 
this field and supports abolitionist actions."
Terry Davis, secretary general of the Council of Europe, remarked that
all the organisation's member states have abolished the death penalty,
except Russia which has implemented a moratorium. He added: "Two of 
our observer states - Canada and Mexico - have also abolished the 
death penalty. The other two - Japan and the USA - continue to 
execute people.  The European Day against the Death Penalty is an 
opportunity to remind them that they are out of step with rest of the 
democratic and civilised world."

"A challenge" for Lebanon

In the Lebanon, Patrick Laurent, head of the Delegation of the 
European Commission, wrote a column in several newspapers, including 
the English-speaking Daily Star. He explained that the EU was "the 
world's leading donor" to abolitionist projects. He welcomed the 
moratorium in place in the Lebanon, but regretted that death 
sentences were handed down in the country in 2008.
The death penalty is progressively being abolished worldwide, most 
recently by Albania, Argentina, Rwanda, Uzbekistan, and the US state 
of New Jersey. We hope that in a near future Lebanon will join them 
by ditching its moratorium in favor of a permanent revocation of the 
death penalty, with the support of the Lebanese people," he concluded.

Appeal in Le Monde

In France, Hélène Flautre, who chairs the European Parliament's sub-
commission on human rights, joined other parliamentarians and 
activists in co-signing a column by Paris Bar Association President 
Christian Charrière-Bournazel headlined "Appeal for Troy Davis and 
all the others..." and published in Le Monde newspaper.
The text uses the example of US death row inmate Troy Davis to 
highlight the unbearable character of the death penalty in the face 
of possible miscarriages of justice. "It is the honour of a great 
country to accept the idea that mistakes can be made. It is also an 
honour to make sure that no innocent person can be unjustly 
punished", it read.
Staying in France, Junior Minister for Human Rights Rama Yade 
welcomed the global trend towards abolition, remarking that four 
countries have abolished the death penalty since October 10, 2007. 
"France is determined to make that process irreversible", she said.

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