Death Penalty Overseas

On this page you can read about...

• death penalty in international law
• countries that retain the death penalty
• European Union's abolition of the death penalty
• United States of America and the death penalty

International Law

The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights commits signatory nations to the abolition of the death penalty. Australia acceded to this Optional Protocol on 2 October 1990. The Protocol entered into force in international law on 11 July 1991.

On 18 December 2007, the United Nations General Assembly passed a resolution calling for a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty (A/RES/62/149). The resolution was passed with 104 votes for, 54 against and 29 abstentions. Australia voted in favour of the resolution. For more information, see the UNGA's press release (18 Dec 07).

The latest resolution (E/CN.4/RES/2005/59) of the UN Commission of Human Rights on the death penalty, which was sponsored and supported by Australia, was passed on 20 April 2005. It notes that the general trend towards the abolition of the death penalty continues, with more and more countries ratifying the Second Optional Protocol.

In February 2006, the UN Secretary-General released the UN's latest report on the Question of the Death Penalty (E/CN.4/2006/83). It notes that the international trend towards the abolition of the death penalty continues.

Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights sets out the minimum standards for those countries that retain the death penalty. The minimum standards are:

• death should only be imposed for the 'most serious crimes'
• there must be a process of appeal and clemency
• pregnant women may not be executed.
• juveniles (under 18 years old) may not be executed.

In 1984, the UN Economic and Social Council adopted the Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty (UN Doc E/RES/1984/50). Those minimum safeguards strengthened and explain Article 6 of the ICCPR.

In 1989, the UN Economic and Social Council passed another resolution calling upon countries that retain the death penalty to implement the Safeguards: Implementation of the Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of those Facing the Death Penalty (UN Doc E/RES/1989/64).

Retentionist Countries

There are still many countries that retain the death penalty. However, more countries are abolishing the death penalty every year. Countries that have abolished the death penalty now outnumber countries that retain the capital punishment.

For a list of countries that have abolished the death penalty, click here.

Below is a list of countries that retain the death penalty:

European Union

The death penalty was completely abolished throughout all the countries of the European Union in 2003 by Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances. Protocol No. 13 abolishes the death penalty under all circumstances - even in times of war. Protocol No. 13 came into force on 1 July 2003.

The European Court of Human Rights, in its decision of 12 March 2003 in the Öçalan v Turkey at [195], concluded that "the territories encompassed by the member States of the Council of Europe have become a zone free of capital punishment".

Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms concerning the Abolition of the Death Penalty abolishes the death penalty in signatory nations. It has been superseded by Protocol No. 13.

United States of America

There are many websites devoted to the death penalty in the United States. Some of them are listed on our International Links webpage.

The situation in individual US States is available from US Death Penalty Info.