A thematic discussion on the abolition of the death penalty was held on 25 March 2026, during the 1555th meeting of the Council of Europe Ministers’ Deputies, chaired by the Republic of Moldova.
The Ministers’ Deputies had the opportunity to exchange views on the abolition of capital punishment, in particular on the upcoming World Congress against the death penalty which will take place in Paris from 30 June to 2 July 2026, marking the 25th anniversary of the event. Its main themes will be Youth and the role of the judiciary in the abolition of the death penalty.
The Council of Europe has had a special relationship with the World Congress against the death penalty as it co-organised its first edition in 2001 in Strasbourg. The World Congress has since then become an essential event for the international abolitionist community.
During the Ministers’ Deputies meeting, Ms Isabelle Rome, Ambassador at large for Human Rights at the French Ministry of European and Foreign Affairs recalled the commitment of France to the universal abolition of the death penalty and shared the host state perspective on the next World Congress.
Mr Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan, Executive Director of Together Against the Death penalty Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort, tackled global trends regarding the death penalty and presented the 9th World Congress from the point of view of the organisers.
Mr Gianluca Esposito, Director General for Human Rights and the Rule of Law at the Council of Europe, touched upon the recent work of the Council of Europe on the abolition of the death penalty and its contributions to the next World Congress.
The Council of Europe’s contributions to the event include :
- the launch of a network of young ambassadors to fight for the abolition across Europe and the world ;
- work conducted by the Council of Europe with Belarusian democratic forces and civil society on the situation of the death penalty in Belarus;
- work conducted on the abolition of the death penalty in Morocco with the Moroccan Conseil National des Droits de l’Homme;
- a report dedicated to moratoria and abolitionist de facto countries entitled "Between retention and abolition: making sense of a death penalty without executions" which was drafted by DPRU at Oxford University and Death Penalty Project, with the support of the Council of Europe;
- a HELP module on the abolition of the death penalty which is now available in English and French;
- a forthcoming study on the history teaching of the abolition of the death penalty in the framework of the Observatory on History Teaching in Europe;
- a debate on the universal abolition of the death penalty that will be held at the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) in April 2026. In this respect, the Assembly’s General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty, Ms. Gala Veldhoen, prepared a draft report, together with a draft resolution, which was provisionally adopted by PACE’s Committee on Legal affairs and human rights on 16 March.
Delegations welcomed these contributions and supported the World Congress against the death penalty.
In addition, the Ministers’ Deputies also adopted a new set of decisions. These decisions took into account the current situation regarding the death penalty, inter alia expressing deep concern over the legislative proposals, currently being examined in the Knesset, which would expand the death penalty in Israel, and called on the authorities of Israel to abandon them.
To know more about the World Congress against the death penalty : Abolition congresses - ECPM
Coordinator for the Abolition of the death penalty
