Brussels, 10/10/2011 (Agence Europe) - To mark European and World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October, the European Union and the Council of Europe have reiterated their opposition to the death penalty and their commitment to its worldwide abolition. They urge Belarus, the last country in Europe still to apply the death penalty, to introduce an immediate moratorium with a view to total abolition. "We consider capital punishment to be inhumane and a violation of human dignity", stressed Catherine Ashton and the Secretary General of the Council of Europe, Thorbjørn Jagland, pointing out that the sentence "does not prevent an increase in violent crime and nor does it bring justice to the victims of such crimes". "Any capital punishment resulting from a miscarriage of justice, from which no legal system can be immune, represents irreversible loss of human life", they added. 58 countries continue to apply the death penalty.
The two figures welcomed recent resolutions of the United Nations on a global moratorium on the application of the death penalty, which were supported by a large number of States. (CG/transl.fl)