Abolition of the death penalty in Europe. - Council of Europe. Committee of Ministers, Ministers'Deputies

588th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies, 8 - 9 April 1997

4.1

ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY IN EUROPE -

Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1302 (1996)

(CM/Del/Dec/Act(96)570/3.1b)

Decision

The Deputies adopted the following interim reply to Parliamentary Assembly Recommendation 1302 (1996) on the abolition of the death penalty in Europe:

"The Committee of Ministers recalls its interim reply to the Parliamentary Assembly's Recommendation 1246 (1994). It fully shares the concern voiced by the Parliamentary Assembly concerning the continuing recourse to capital punishment, and in this context, appreciates the determined efforts of the Parliamentary Assembly to ensure the honouring of the commitments entered into by member States to abolish the death penalty and to put into place a moratorium on executions of death sentences.

Bearing in mind that, at national level, parliaments and governments share responsibility regarding the abolition of the death penalty, the Committee of Ministers regards the present interim reply as part of an ongoing dialogue between the Parliamentary Assembly and the Committee of Ministers concerning this question.

The Committee of Ministers reiterates that the Ministers' Deputies, within the framework of their Rapporteur Group on Human Rights, are considering measures, such as those put forward in Recommendations 1246 (1994) and 1302 (1996) of the Parliamentary Assembly, leading towards an end to capital punishment.

At this stage, the Committee of Ministers wishes in particular to lay stress on the following points:

a. It welcomes the constructive dialogue that has been developed between the Committee of Ministers and the Parliamentary Assembly concerning this issue and would emphasise its strong commitment to pursue this dialogue on the abolition of capital punishment in all member States of the Council of Europe.

b. Recalling the encouragement given at the 555th meeting of the Ministers' Deputies, "to member States which have not yet done so to operate, de facto or de jure, a moratorium on the execution of death sentences", the Committee of Ministers calls on all governments and parliaments in its member States urgently to implement their commitments concerning a moratorium on executions. It supports all other initiatives taken at the national level by governments and parliaments in favour of the abolition of capital punishment.

c. The Committee of Ministers also declares its active support for all activities designed to raise the awareness among both the public and professionals, including law enforcement officials and policy-makers, on questions such as the absence of evidence in support of the so-called "deterrent effect" of capital punishment and of the growing recognition of a contradiction between recourse to capital punishment and respect for human rights.

In this regard it welcomes the holding of the Seminar in Kyiv in November 1996, organised at the initiative of the Parliamentary Assembly. It encourages the Parliamentary Assembly to pursue initiatives of this kind designed to make parliamentarians and other policy-makers sensitive to issues surrounding the abolition of capital punishment and, pending such abolition, the urgent need to implement a moratorium on executions.

The Committee of Ministers also draws attention to the seminar organised the same month by the Secretariat in collaboration with Intercenter in Taormina, which stressed that the fight against serious crime must be pursued in the full respect of human rights, and that educational, scientific and practical initiatives could be developed to assist countries in this context. The Committee of Ministers is ready to lend its support to other initiatives in this sense.

The Committee of Ministers will examine the possibilities of further assistance and advice, notably through educational and awareness-raising activities, to interested States, for implementation within the framework of existing co-operation and assistance programmes and/or through voluntary contributions from interested governments.

d. The Committee of Ministers considers that the process of monitoring compliance with commitments accepted by member States of the Council of Europe can contribute, in a spirit of dialogue and co-operation, to the process of putting an end to capital punishment. It also considers that the Parliamentary Assembly has an important role to play in this regard.

The Committee of Ministers will keep the Parliamentary Assembly informed of further developments resulting from on-going work at the level of the Ministers' Deputies."