Reintroduction of the DP in Liberia
Source: French Presideny of the EU 2008
Published Wednesday, 6 August, 2008 - 16:10
The European Union expresses its deepest concern following the
promulgation in Liberia of a law reintroducing the death penalty for
certain crimes.
It notes that Liberia abolished the death penalty for all crimes in
2005. In signing the second Optional Protocol to the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in September 2005, Liberia
committed itself to taking all the necessary measures with a view to
abolishing the death penalty.
Such a decision to reintroduce the death penalty is an extremely
disturbing signal which runs counter to the trend observed for many
years in Africa and in the world as a whole.
The European Union reaffirms its opposition to the use of the death
penalty under all circumstances. It considers that abolition of the
death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the
development of human rights. It regards the death penalty as a cruel
and inhuman punishment and a violation of the right to life. It notes
that there is no evidence that such a punishment is dissuasive, and
that its use renders any miscarriages of justice irreversible.
The European Union urges Liberia to abide by its commitments and
international human rights standards.
Attaching great importance to the fact that no executions have been
carried out in that country since 2000, the European Union urges the
Liberian Government and Parliament to abolish the use of the death
penalty both in law and in practice.
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and
Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and
Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Iceland,
Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as
well as Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova, Armenia and Georgia align
themselves with this declaration.
http://www.egovmoni tor.com/node/ 20329
