International News and Developments: 2003
Nobel Laureates Oppose Death Penalty, Decry
Execution of Juvenile Offenders
A gathering
of Nobel Laureates in Rome concluded with a common statement calling
for
abolition of the death penalty and specifically decrying the death
penalty
for juvenile offenders. The statement noted "the death penalty is a
particularly
cruel and unusual punishment that should be abolished. It is especially
unconscionable when imposed on children." Among those in attendance at
the summit were Mikhail Gorbachev, former Israel Prime Minister Simon
Peres,
the Dalai Lama, Mairead Corrigan Maguire, Lech Walesa, Betty Williams,
Jody Williams, Costa Rican President Oscar Arias Sanchez, and a number
of organizations that participated in the summit. (Fourth World Summit
of Nobel Peace Laureates, November 30, 2003) Read
more about the summit. See Juvenile
Death Penalty and New
Voices.
British
Human Rights Report Addresses U.S. Death Penalty
The United Kingdom's Foreign &
Commonwealth Office's Human Rights Annual Report 2003 includes a review
of Britain's official actions to address concerns about the application
of the death penalty in the United States. In addition to an outline of
the U.K.'s reaction to significant death penalty developments in the
U.S.,
the report highlights the sharp difference between British and U.S.
capital
punishment policies. It states:
The UK Government opposes the death penalty and its use on British nationals everywhere. The UK and the US share many of the same objectives for human rights and democracy around the world, but we fundamentally disagree over the use of the death penalty. The UK makes representations against the death penalty, at whatever stage we judge the most appropriate and effective, on behalf of British nationals on death row or those facing a possible death sentence, and in cases where we believe that the use of the death penalty falls short of UN minimum standards. (U.K. Foreign & Commonwealth Office, Human Rights Annual Report 2003).
British
Privy Council Declares the Automatic Death Penalty in Trinidad
and Tobago Unconstitutional
The British Privy Council, which is
composed of law lords serving as the final appeals court in many of
Britain's
former colonies, has ruled that the automatic death penalty in Trinidad
and Tobago was inconsistent with their international obligations.
Despite the ruling, the automatic death penalty seems popular in the
region,
and some argue that it should be the country's parliament to decide on
punishments. However, the judgement simply means that the death penalty
is still the maximum penalty, but would no longer be mandatory,
reserved
for more serious killings. (The Guardian (London), November 21, 2003)
Justice O'Connor Stresses Importance of International Law
During a speech hosted by the
Southern Center for International Studies in Atlanta, Supreme Court
Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor stressed the importance of international law for
American
courts and the need for the United States to create a more favorable
impression
abroad. She cited recent Supreme Court cases, including the Court's
ruling
to ban the execution of those with mental retardation, that illustrate
the increased willingness of U.S. courts to take international law into
account. "I suspect that over time we will rely increasingly, or take
notice
at least increasingly, on international and foreign courts in examining
domestic issues." O'Connor noted that doing so "may not only enrich our
own country's decisions, I think it may create that all important good
impression." (World Net Daily, October 31, 2003)
Kenya
to Abolish Capital Punishment
Kenyan government officials
are working to abolish the nation's death penalty and replace the
punishment
with life in prison. The recommendation is currently under review by
Kenya's
constitutional review conference, a body comprised of members of
parliament,
professional bodies and religious and civic leaders. Kenya has not had
an execution since 1987, but 2,618 people remain on the nation's death
row. Kenya's assistant minister for home affairs, Wilfred Machage,
noted,
"The practice has been used worldwide in the past but latest trends
show
that it is an abuse of an individual's right to life and it is not part
of the measures that can help a convict fit in society because they
will
be dead." (ITV.com, October 15, 2003)
Foreign
Service Journal Examines the Impact of World Opinion on the U.S. Death
Penalty
The October 2003 edition of
the Foreign Service Journal contains a series of articles examining
world
opinion on the death penalty and its effect on U.S. policies. The
articles,
including one by DPIC Executive Director Richard Dieter, feature
information
on international treaties, the experiences of former U.S. foreign
diplomats,
and the effect of the international movement away from the death
penalty
on the U.S.'s position as a leader in human rights. Among the other
contributing
writers are Harold Hongju Koh, Thomas R. Pickering, Paul Rosenszweig,
Greg
Kane, and Paul Blackburn. (Foreign Service Journal, October 2003) For a
copy of Richard Dieter's article, contact
DPIC.
International
News: World Day Against the Death Penalty
An International coalition of
non-governmental organizations will sponsor a World Day Against the
Death
Penalty on October 10th, 2003. The coalition will host local events
throughout
the world to draw attention to their concerns about capital punishment.
Among the events scheduled are debates, concerts, and lectures. The
coalition
will also host an Internet event urging repeal of the death penalty in
all countries that maintain the practice, including the United States.
(World Coalition Against the Death Penalty Press Release, September 10,
2003) Read the press in
English,
French,
Spanish.
U.S.
Will Not Seek Death Penalty Against Two British Nationals
Pentagon general counsel William
J. Haynes II has assured British Prime Minister Tony Blair that the
U.S.
will not seek the death penalty against two British citizens facing
trial
on terrorism charges before military tribunals. The two men, Feroz
Abbasi
and Moazzam Begg, are among the 680 prisoners from 42 countries being
held
at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, in connection with the campaign against
terrorism.
Prior to Blair's recent visit to Washington, during which he raised the
issue with President Bush, the Prime Minister had pushed for the U.S.
to
extradite the two men to Britain. If that option were not available, he
requested assurance of fair trials free of the prospect of a death
sentence,
which Britain bans. The agreement has raised questions of fairness
among
those international leaders representing other citizens who are
expected
to face military tribunals in the future. "We believe that whatever is
being done has to be done on a non-discriminatory basis. That's the
rule
of law. There should be a uniform set of procedures followed," said
Asad
Hayauddin, a press attache at the Pakistani Embassy in Washington.
(Washington
Post, July 23, 2003)
Armenia
Commutes All Death Sentences
Walter Schwimmer, Secretary
General of the Council of Europe, recently praised the decision of
Armenian
President Robert Kocharyan to commute all remaining death sentences in
the nation to life in prison. "I am delighted that President Kocharyan
has taken such a positive and commendable step forward. The death
penalty
is an affront to all notions of dignity and human rights, and has no
place
in the Europe of today," Schwimmer said. The President's decision to
commute
the death sentences is in line with Armenia's efforts to comply with
standards
set by the Council of Europe that forbid member nations from
maintaining
capital punishment. (The Council of Europe Press, August 2, 2003).
Japanese Legislative Group Proposes Halt to Executions, Study
The Diet Members' League for
Abolition of the Death Penalty, a parliamentary group of the governing
Liberal Democratic Party, has drafted legislation to replace the death
penalty with life in prison. In addition, the bill would establish
panels
in both Houses of the Diet to study capital punishment. The bill does
not
propose an immediate abandonment of capital punishment, but instead
imposes
a four-year moratorium on executions. During this time, the
parliamentary
panels would be charged with reaching a consensus on the abolition of
capital
punishment in three years.
In 2001, the Council of Europe
adopted a resolution that threatened to review the observer status of
Japan
and the United States if the two countries failed to take steps toward
abolishing the death penalty. (Japan Times, June 23, 2003)
ANOTHER
POINT OF VIEW: Saudi Executioner Says He Leads "Normal Life"
Although he beheads up to seven
people a day, Saudi Arabia's leading executioner, 42-year-old Muhammad
Saad Al-Beshi, says that he leads a normal life and is carrying out
God's
will. Using a sword given to him as a gift by the government, Al-Beshi
has performed public executions since 1998 and has since trained his
son,
Musaed, to also become an executioner. "An executioner's life, of
course,
is not all killing. Sometimes it can be amputation of hands and legs. I
use a special sharp knife, not a sword. When I cut off a hand I cut it
from the joint. If it is a leg the authorities specify where it is to
be
taken off, so I follow that," Al-Beshi says. Although the majority of
executions
are eventually carried out, Al-Beshi must first go to the victim's
family
to ask forgiveness for the criminal, who may then be spared the sword.
He states, "I always have that hope, until the very last minute, and I
pray to God to give the criminal a new lease of life. I always keep
that
hope alive." A self-described family man, Al-Beshi says that his
profession
does not keep him from leading a normal life among family and friends
and
that he sleeps very well at night. He notes, "They aren't afraid of me
when I come back from an execution. Sometimes they help me clean my
sword."
(Arab News, June 5, 2003). See "Witness
to an Execution" for the perspective of those involved in U.S.
executions.
Armenia
Abolishes Death Penalty
Armenian lawmakers recently
voted to adopt a criminal code that abolishes the death penalty. The
decision
to eliminate capital punishment brings Armenia into compliance with its
obligations as a member of the Council of Europe. Under the new law,
enacted
six years after the nation declared a moratorium on executions, the
death
penalty will be replaced with life imprisonment. (Associated Press,
April
19, 2003)
China,
Iran and U.S. are World's Top Executioners
A recent report issued by Amnesty
International states that the United States, China and Iran carried out
80% of all known executions in 2002. According to the report, issued in
Geneva as members of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights met
for a six week session, China had the most executions with 1,060, Iran
had the second highest number with 113, and the United States had the
third-highest
number with 71 executions. Amnesty noted that the true number of people
executed in China was believed to be much higher. To date, 111
countries
have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice, but it is still
imposed in 83 countries. Read
the report. (Reuters, April 11, 2003)
Great
Britain Rules Out Death Penalty Extradition to U.S.
British Home Secretary David
Blunkett recently promised that Great Britain will not extradite people
to the United States if they might face the death penalty. The
announcement
came shortly after Blunkett and U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft
signed
a new extradition treaty between the two nations. The new agreement was
designed to bring the U.K.'s extradition policies with the U.S. more in
line with arrangements made with other European countries. During talks
regarding the new agreement, Blunkett said that Ashcroft guaranteed
that
no person extradited from the U.K. would face death penalty charges and
that no new capital charges would be filed following the individual's
arrival
in the U.S. (BBC News, April 5, 2003)
European
Court Rules Death Penalty "Unacceptable Form of Punishment"
A European Court ruling found that Turkey's imposition
of the death penalty on defendant Abdullah Ocalan violated the European
Convention on Human Rights' ban on inhuman and degrading treatment. The
Court held that capital sentences are now regarded as "an unacceptable
form of punishment" which can "no longer be seen as having any
legitimate
place in a democratic society." (Kurdish Media, March 12, 2003) In
August
2002, Turkey's parliament approved a package of rights, including
abolishing
the death penalty, in an effort aimed at increasing its chances of
joining
the European Union. The legislation will replace the death penalty with
life in prison without parole, although capital punishment will remain
on the books during times of war.
International Opposition to Death Penalty Continues to Grow
The Zenit News Agency recently reported on a series of
official state actions curtailing the death penalty around the world:
Turkey abolished the death penalty in an effort to meet with European Union qualifications. Montenegro and Serbia abolished the death penalty to clear the way for entry into the Council of Europe. The President of Kazakhstan said that the nation should seriously consider halting executions and abolishing capital punishment altogether. Turkmenistan abolished capital punishment. Kyrgyzstan extended its moratorium on the death penalty for an additional year. South Korea has not carried out an execution since 1998. Taiwan, which has carried out nearly 300 executions over the past decade, said that it wants an end to executions. Blas Ople, Foreign Affairs Secretary in the Philippines, said that the nation will suspend all executions while its Congress continues to debate the merits of the death penalty.
(Zenit News Agency, February 8, 2003). See International Death Penalty.
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