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13322/03 (Presse 295) 1
EN
Brussels, 10 October 2003 13322/03 (Presse 295) P 122/03
DECLARATION BY THE PRESIDENCY ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN UNION
TO MARK THE FIRST WORLD DAY AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY ON 10 OCTOBER 2003
The European Union welcomes the Civil Society initiative of organising World Day against the Death Penalty each year on 10 October, as of 2003.
On this occasion, the European Union would like to reiterate its longstanding and firm opposition to use of the death penalty under any circumstances. The European Union believes as a matter of policy that the death penalty is a contravention of the right to life and calls for its abolition.
The European Union’s aspiration is to see the death penalty abolished in law and in practice in every country in the world, in times of peace and war. The EU calls upon countries that have not yet abolished the death penalty to at least introduce a moratorium as a first step towards complete abolition. The EU welcomes the global trend towards abolition of the death penalty. In this context, it is important to note that the international community has excluded the use of the death penalty when establishing international criminal courts and tribunals competent to try the most heinous crimes such as genocide and crimes against humanity and war crimes.
In countries which retain the death penalty, the EU aim is a progressive restriction of its scope and respect for the strict conditions set forth in several international human rights instruments under which capital punishment may be used. The EU reiterates its concern about sentencing to death persons below 18 years of age at the time of the commission of the crime.
The European Union supports the objectives of the World Coalition against the Death Penalty (WCADP), organisers of World Day against the Death Penalty, namely: to encourage public discussion of the death penalty; to strengthen public opposition to the death penalty; and to put pressure on retentionist countries to stop executions and abolish the death penalty. The political commitment of the EU to work towards the abolition of the death penalty is supported by community funding through the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).
The Acceding Countries Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia, the Associated Countries Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA countries Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area align themselves with this declaration.
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