EU urges Guyana to formalise death penalty moratorium

The European Union (EU) today urged Guyana to formalise its de facto moratorium on the death penalty into a de jure moratorium as a step towards the abolition of the death penalty.

In a statement in observance of the World/European Day Against The Death Penalty today, the EU said that the abolition of the death penalty worldwide represents one of the main objectives of the EU’s human rights policy.

“The EU will continue using all its available tools of diplomacy and cooperation assistance to work towards the abolition of the death penalty in countries where it still applies. The EU is a leading institutional actor and the lead donor to the efforts by civil society organizations around the world in the abolition of the death penalty”, the statement said.

The EU asserted that the imposition of the death penalty contravenes the right to life. It also argued that the death penalty does not deter crime more effectively that other punishments.

Though death sentences continue to be handed down by the courts here, the penalty has not been enforced here since August of 1997.

In December, 2018, for the first time, Guyana shifted its stance from opposing a moratorium on the death penalty, and instead, abstained from the vote at the United Nations General Assembly in New York. 

It was among 32 states to do so, with 121, including Dominica, having voted in favour of the death penalty moratorium, and 35 states, including the USA, India, Pakistan, Iraq and Iran, voting against it.

On Saturday,  France announced that it will launch a campaign for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty as part of its upcoming presidency of the European Union.

According to Reuters,  President Emmanuel Macron said a conference will be held in Paris gathering civil society groups from countries where the death penalty is in use or suspended. The President was at the time delivering a speech to mark the 40th anniversary of France’s abolition of the punishment.

France, which will hold the rotating presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2022, will also work with other member states towards a United Nations resolution requiring countries to report each year the number of death penalty sentences given and executions carried out, he said, Reuters said.