| Today is the 22nd European and International Day Against the Death Penalty. On this day, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade Hadja Lahbib reaffirms: “Efforts to abolish the death penalty remain more necessary than ever!”
According to Amnesty International’s annual report, 55 countries still retain the death penalty, of which 16 countries still carried out executions in 2023. However, Amnesty International points out that this number of countries, which is smaller than ever, has carried out the highest official number of executions in nearly a decade. But these figures are actually much higher. Not all countries publish information on the application of the death penalty, which has led Belgium and the European Union to insist on maximum transparency.
More fundamentally, the firm objective of Belgium and the European Union remains more than ever the complete and universal abolition of the death penalty. Indeed, the death penalty violates not only the right to life, but also other human rights, such as the right not to be subjected to torture or other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.
The International Day Against the Death Penalty helps to raise awareness of this and other human rights aspects related to the death penalty. This year’s International Day is a good opportunity to challenge the misconception that the death penalty can make people and communities safer. On the contrary, the death penalty does not protect individuals or societies, as it threatens human dignity and reinforces social and economic disparities, disproportionately affecting marginalised groups.
On this International Day, Belgium therefore calls on all stakeholders to join the global abolitionist movement and to mobilise to support the call for the universal abolition of the death penalty.
Belgium’s commitment to the abolition of the death penalty is not limited to just one day a year. This is a long-term task on several fronts. Our country remains determined to keep the issue of the death penalty on the agenda of the United Nations Human Rights Council, of which Belgium is a member until the end of 2025.
However, this is not enough for Belgium. That is why our country is a member of the support group of the International Commission against the Death Penalty (CIPM) and the Group of Friends of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty.
As proof of this commitment, Belgium organised an event in Geneva last June, together with the CIPM, in order to mobilise countries that no longer apply the death penalty to join the 91 States Parties to this Second Protocol.
Finally, Belgium looks forward to the forthcoming adoption of a new resolution by the United Nations General Assembly, calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. This initiative can certainly count on the active support of our country. |
secretary@pressclub.be