Le Figaro – 31 January 2007

European governments must take a more robust stand against the death penalty in the world

The macabre spectacle of Saddam Hussein’s execution should come as a wake up call to all those who pretend that the death penalty is a cultural eccentricity and a sovereign right - something we may frown upon but do not really criticise, especially when our big and powerful allies are involved.

While it is true that in most countries people are not taunted and insulted before being killed, this is where the differences end. A sanitised environment and a detailed protocol of execution do not change the fact that the death penalty is barbaric, uncivilised and inhuman, regardless of whether people are being poisoned or electrocuted in the United States of America, beheaded in Saudi Arabia or hanged in Japan and Iraq.

Some countries argue that capital punishment may be justified by the nature or magnitude of the crimes committed, but a growing number reject the idea that the likes of Saddam Hussein should be used as a yardstick for human decency and civilisation.

The bottom line is that you cannot have a civilised and humane society if the state is uncivilised and inhumane. The death penalty is cruel, it does not deter crime, and it does not help the victims of crime. An execution transforms a murderer into a martyr and a judicial error into an irreversible tragedy. One has only to recall the unjust verdict of death against the Palestinian doctor and Bulgarian nurses in Libya to glimpse the horror of judicial justification of murder.

The death penalty is a premeditated and fatal abuse of human rights. It violates the European Convention on Human Rights and its protocols which guarantee the right to life and prohibit torture, degrading and inhuman treatment.

The Council of Europe has been working for the past 30 years to outlaw the death penalty in Europe. Since 1989, abolition has been set as a formal condition for accession for all new member states. 45 of the 46 member states have formally abolished the death penalty, and we expect the Russian Federation will soon follow suit. As a result, there has not been an execution in any member state of the Council of Europe for 10 years. In the whole of Europe, only Belarus is out of step.

On the other hand, the abolition of the death penalty is still unfinished business. First, many Europeans are still in favour of the death penalty, and this is not something we can ignore. We need to go out and explain to people why the death penalty is wrong, why it has been abolished, and why it should stay abolished.

Second, some of our closest friends and allies continue to execute people. We all know that the decision to abolish the death penalty must come from them. But until they decide to do so – and in time, they will - we should not remain silent. If Europe wants to be taken seriously on the world stage, it should stop trying to square the circle and take a much more robust and unequivocal position in favour of abolition. Yes, it does mean taking up the issue with the United States of America and Japan and other allies which continue to kill people. Good friends talk straight. This is why I support the initiative of the Italian government calling for a global ban on capital punishment. It may take time, but there is no doubt that the death penalty is following the path of slavery and torture, and its abolition will eventually become a universally accepted value and norm.

Terry Davis
Secretary General of the Council of Europe