By Philip Buda Ladu
European Union and the Council of Europe reaffirmed their opposition against death penalty, advocating for its complete abolition worldwide.
In a joint statement released on Thursday, October 10, 2024, to mark the “World Day against the Death Penalty,” the entities emphasized the increasing global momentum toward abolition, noting that more than two-thirds of countries have eliminated the death penalty either in law or in practice.
However, despite this progress, several nations continue to carry out executions, with China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, and the United States leading the list, the EU noted.
Meanwhile, the EU and Council of Europe expressed deep concern over the use of nitrogen hypoxia as a controversial method of execution in the United States and the ongoing practice of capital punishment in Belarus, the only European country that still retains the death penalty.
The European nations emphasized that the death penalty has no deterrent effect on crime and can lead to irreversible miscarriages of justice.
It urged countries that still carry out executions to introduce a moratorium as a first step towards full abolition.
The EU and Council of Europe pledged to strengthen their cooperation to counter narratives promoting the reintroduction of the death penalty and to foster open and democratic debates on its abolition.
They also committed to supporting efforts to improve transparency around the use of the death penalty and to engage with young people and civil society.
European Union and Council of Europe asserted that death penalty is a relic of the past with no place in the 21st century and must be abolished immediately.
South Sudan is known for still enforcing the death penalty for certain crimes, but there are also concerns about extrajudicial executions.
The death penalty is allowed for certain crimes, including murder, treason, high-level drug trafficking, and terrorism and the president and Supreme Court must approve a death sentence.
Furthermore, the death penalty is not allowed for people under 18, pregnant or lactating women, or people over 70 years old.
In July 2024, the UN Human Rights Commission expressed grave concerns about extrajudicial executions in South Sudan, where people face army and security forces firing squads for a range of alleged offences, such as murder, rape, cattle-raiding, domestic disputes and inter-communal violence.
Between January 2023 and June 2024, a total of 76 people, including two children, were executed by firing squad, and with no trial, according to the UN rights body.
Human Rights Watch report stated that between April and June 2021 on the orders of the then governor, security forces executed at least 21 people accused of murder, theft, and other offences in Warrap State.
Extrajudicial executions constitute a grave violation of the right to life and to due process, including a fair trial, the UN rights body emphasized.
However, some rights defenders say the government is not doing enough to stop extrajudicial executions, where people are killed by firing squads without a trial.
International human rights standards support the abolition of the death penalty as a form of punishment, while international law permits the penalty of death in very limited circumstances, it may only be applied to the most serious crimes and following absolute strict due process.
South Sudan is a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and is limited by art. 6(2) as to when, if ever, it can legitimately impose the death penalty.
Human Rights Watch opposes the death penalty as a uniquely cruel and irreversible punishment in all circumstances.