Death Penalty Has No Place in the 21st Century, UN Special Rapporteur Cihan News Agency
go to original October 31, 2015

The UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions told reporters that the death penalty "has no place in the 21st century" and called on governments to do more to assist their citizens on death row abroad.

In his annual report to the UN General Assembly, Christof Heyns noted that hundreds of foreign nationals face the death penalty around the world after trials that may not meet the highest standards of fairness.

Addressing journalists at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, Heyns said "it seems to me that one can safely say that international law requires, at least, the progressive abolition of the death penalty. So in that sense I do think international law requires states that still have death penalty to move away from the death penalty."

...In his report, the Special Rapporteur described the programs put in place by some governments frequently providing assistance to their nationals facing death sentences. The Mexican Government, for example, established the "Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program" to address the problems faced by Mexican nationals in the United States of America.

However, Heyns said that more States should follow Mexico's example, as it is a "duty of due diligence on the state to provide such support. And the argument for that is to say that states are required to not to be complicit in violations of international law."

Read the rest at Cihan News Agency

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