EU Newsbrief: EU Marks World Day Against Death Penalty

News provided by

Delegation of the European Union to the United States

Oct 09, 2014, 01:03 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- On the eve of the World Day and European Day against the Death Penalty on October 10, the European Union and the Council of Europe reaffirmed their strong and absolute opposition to the use of capital punishment and their commitment to its worldwide abolition.

"The European Union and Council of Europe call on all Members of the United Nations to support the Resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty which will be put to vote at the 69th session of the UN General Assembly in December 2014.''

European Union Ambassador to the United States Joao Vale de Almeida stressed that the EU is opposed to the use of capital punishment in all cases and under any circumstances, and he expressed hope that capital punishment will be abolished in the U.S. states where it still exists. "We pledge our continued commitment to abolish the death penalty worldwide, and we will use our available tools of diplomacy and cooperation assistance towards this goal," he said, noting that the introduction of a moratorium would be a first step towards this goal. The EU has intervened in several U.S. death penalty cases.

More information:

http://eeas.europa.eu/human_rights/adp/index_en.htm

http://www.euintheus.org/what-we-do/policy-areas/democracy-and-human-rights/torture-and-capital-punishment/

http://www.euintheus.org/resources-learning/eu-fact-sheets/leading-the-fight-against-capital-punishment/

SOURCE Delegation of the European Union to the United States