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10 October - European Day against the death penalty - Council of Europe
10 October - European Day against the death penalty
The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided on 26 September 2007, to declare a ''European Day against the Death Penalty,'' which is held annually on 10 October.
The Council of Europe has been a pioneer in the abolition process which has made Europe a de facto death-penalty-free zone since 1997.
The day is a European contribution to the World Day against the Death Penalty, which is held annually on the same day.
European Day against the Death Penalty 2010
Joint Council of Europe / European Union declaration
To mark the European Day against the Death Penalty and the World Day against the Death Penalty, Thorbjørn Jagland, Secretary General of the Council of Europe and Baroness Catherine Ashton, Vice President of the European Commission and EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, reaffirm their opposition to the use of capital punishment in all circumstances, and their commitment to the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.
2010 sees the Council of Europe take the battle against the death penalty where it really counts: Belarus, the only country in Europe that still uses capital punishment.
To mark the European Day against Death Penalty, The National Museum of the History of the Great Patriotic War in Minsk, Belarus’ capital city, will host an exhibition of 100 posters from the competition “Death is not justice”, organized by Poster4Tomorrow. The NGO based in Paris, France, held its second annual graphic design competition under the patronage of the Secretary General of the Council of Europe. For 2010, it took the Council of Europe’s slogan as the theme for the competition.
The aim is to promote abolition of the death penalty, one of the central values of the Council of Europe, amongst the general public. The latest referendum in Belarus showed that 80% of the population wanted to retain the death penalty. The exhibition follows a round table held in September, where the Council of Europe and Belarusian authorities discussed the introduction of a moratorium on the death penalty in the country.
