Belgian Minister of Foreign and European Affairs Didier Reynders called on Belarus to join the countries that have abolished the death penalty on Wednesday 27 February at the opening ceremony of the Seventh World Congress Against the Death Penalty.
"Europe is now an area where the death penalty is almost totally outlawed. Almost, because Belarus is still missing [...] I hope that in the near future it will be possible to make Europe the first continent without the death penalty", Reynders said.
At the press conference, he stressed his wish to have an open debate during the Congress, in particular with those countries that continue to apply the death penalty, including the "Belarusian delegation" present at this event.
Abolishing the death penalty would also allow Belarus to remove the only obstacle preventing it from joining the Council of Europe, the Belgian minister added during the press conference following the ceremony.
While assuring that the European Union will continue to "work to save more lives", EU High Representative Federica Mogherini highlighted the progress made around the world. “[Since the first World Congress in 2001], 31 new countries have decided to abolish the death penalty", she said with satisfaction. (Original version in French by Damien Genicot - intern)