In New York on today, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) will cast an initial vote, in committee, on a draft resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
The Greater Caribbean for Life, an organisation that is working towards the abolition of the death penalty, has urged all Caribbean nations to use this opportunity to demonstrate their commitment to human rights and the fundamental right to life by supporting this resolution.
It has long been recognized that the death penalty is a human rights issue, and is the ultimate cruel and inhuman punishment. Yet, thousands of people are still put to death across the globe every year, often after unfair trials or in violation of the minimum safeguards all states agreed to observe to protect their rights.
If the draft resolution is passed by this vote, it will go before the UNGA’s plenary session in December for a final vote. All four previous resolutions have passed with overwhelming majorities – and the number of countries voting in favour has increased each time. In 2012, 111 UN member states voted in favour, 41 against and 34 abstained.
This increasing support reflects the fact that more and more countries around the world are realising that there are simply no good arguments for keeping the death penalty on the books. In 1945, when the UN was created, only eight countries had removed capital punishment for all crimes from their legislation. Today, 137 out of 193 UN member states are abolitionist in law or practice. Last year, only 20 member states carried out death sentences.
Leela Ramdeen, chair of the Greater Caribbean for Life, said: “When the great majority of countries which have chosen to move away from capital punishment are supporting the resolution, why are we still failing to find non-lethal means to protect society from offenders?”
Caribbean states have consistently voted against the resolutions, and they represent more than a quarter of the votes opposed to the global moratorium, even though most of them have not carried out any execution for the past ten years.
The death penalty is often thought of as a quick-fix solution to tackling crime, in particular in countries facing high rates of violent crime. But there is, in fact, no evidence that the death penalty acts as a particular deterrent to crime – something confirmed in multiple studies across many different regions.
There is no doubt that the rights of the victims of crime should be protected and justice must be served. But opposing the death penalty does not mean being soft on crime, it simply means focusing the response on tackling the root causes of crime and working on what will really make societies safer, while promoting a culture of rights for all. Rather than tackling crime, the death penalty only adds to a cycle of violence, Greater Caribbean for Life said in a press release.
The Greater Caribbean for Life called on Caribbean governments to make the right choice for human rights and support the UN moratorium on the use of the death penalty.
