Caribbean countries urged to vote for UN death penalty moratorium

Caribbean countries urged to vote for UN death penalty moratorium
Published on November 20, 2014

TACARIGUA, Trinidad -- In New York on Friday, 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.

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