|
BIANCA
JAGGER CALLS FOR GLOBAL ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY: 24/10/2007 (MaximsNews Network)
UNITED NATIONS - / MaximsNews Network /
- 24 October 2007 -- Lisbon
– Bianca Jagger, the Council
of Europe Goodwill Ambassador for the Fight against the Death Penalty,
supported the decision of the Council of Europe to declare the 10th of October
European Day against the Death Penalty.
“If
today
Europe
is a death penalty free zone, it is largely thanks to the arduous efforts of
the Council of Europe. In early 1980, the Council of Europe became a pioneer for
the abolition of capital punishment; it regarded the death penalty a grave
violation of human rights.
"The
Organisation’s Parliamentary Assembly gradually persuaded governments to make
Europe
become the first region in the world to permanently outlaw the death penalty
and in 1982 the Council of Europe adopted Protocol No. 6 to the European
Convention on Human Rights.
"It
came into force on 1 March 1985 and became the first legally-binding instrument
abolishing the death penalty in peacetime. The Protocol has been ratified by 46
of the Council’s 47 member states, with one exception
Russia
,” said Ms Jagger.
Since
Protocol No. 6 didn’t exclude the death penalty in respect of acts committed
in time of war or of imminent threat of war, the Council of Europe made the
final step in order to abolish the death penalty in all circumstances by
adopting Protocol No.13, which entered into force on 1 July 2003.
So
far Protocol No. 13 has been ratified by 39 countries. Ms Jagger welcomed
France
's decision to ratify this important instrument in
Strasbourg
on 10 October 2007.
Nominated
Council of Europe Goodwill Ambassador in December 2003, Ms Jagger has campaigned
against the death penalty throughout the world.
"I
call on all European countries which have not yet ratify Protocol No. 13 to do
so and help pave the way to a global abolition of the death penalty," she
said.
"Our
role is to convince countries throughout the world to follow the European model,
outlaw the death penalty and make abolition a universally accepted value.
Governments cannot ignore that it is impossible to ensure that innocent people
are not executed; since the reinstatement of the death penalty in the
US
, 124 people have been released from death row after having been wrongfully
convicted.
"Capital
punishment does not deter crime, it is disproportionately
used against the poor, minorities and political opponents", said Bianca
Jagger.
Labels: United
Nations, U.N.,
~~~~~
MaximsNews.com, An Independent Voice from the
U.N., provides commentary and analysis from
leading world figures: King Abdullah II
(Jordan), HRH Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein
(Jordan), Sir Brian Urquhart, Hans Blix, Amb.
Richard Holbrooke, Anwar Ibrahim, Bianca Jagger,
Dr. Nafis Sadik, Shashi Tharoor, Thoraya Ahmed Obaid, Noeleen Heyzer,
Masood Haider, Kerry
Kennedy, Ian Williams, Stephen Schlesinger, Sen.
Timothy E. Wirth, Marc Morial, Amb. Jayantha
Dhanapala (Sri Lanka), Amb. Pierre Schori
(Sweden), Amb. William H. Luers, Susan Roosevelt
Weld, Rory Kennedy, Mehri
Madarshahi, J. Michael Adams, Gloria Feldt,
Jeffrey Laurenti, Rodney D. Smith, Ashley
Bommer, Rory
O'Connor, Genevieve Stamper, Max Stamper and
others.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MaximsNews®
LLC
NEWS NETWORK FOR THE
INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY
MaximsNews Network® LLC is a Global News Network reaching over 30,000 in the International Community. It is associated with MediaChannel.org and Globalvision News Network, global news and media information services with more than 350 news affiliates in 135 countries.
Established in 1999.
The views expressed are the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of MaximsNews®
LLC.
MaximsNews.com
U.N. ® LLC www.MaximsNews.com
| MaximsNews@MaximsNews.com |
Please
contact us about Republishing:
Syndication@MaximsNews.com ©Copyrights 1999 - 2007, MaximsNews® LLC. All rights
reserved.
|
