Brussels, 02/09/2002 (Agence Europe) - On 30 August the Danish Presidency made the following declaration on behalf of the EU, "The EU is deeply concerned about the reports that a Sudanese special court has sentenced 88 people to death in Nyala, Southern Dafur province. The EU invites the government to examine the possibility to take clemency measures in order that these sentences by commuted. The EU considers that the abolition of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement of human dignity and the progressive development of human rights. The European Union finds this form of punishment cruel and inhuman. The death penalty provides no added value in terms of deterrence and any miscarriage of justice would be irreversible. Consequently, the death penalty is abolished in all European Union countries. But the reasons for doing away with this form of penalty apply to every person in any part of the world. Universal abolition of the death penalty is thus a strongly held policy in view agreed by all EU members. The high number of death sentences is especially disturbing and raises doubts regarding the validity of the legal process. Capital punishment must only be carried out pursuant to a final judgement rendered by a competent court after legal process which gives all possible safeguards to ensure a fair trial, at least equal to those contained in Article 14 of the international covenant on civil and political rights, which Sudan has ratified, including the right of anyone suspected of or charged with a crime for which capital punishment may be imposed to adequate legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings. The EU is particularly concerned about the information that two of the people sentenced were only 14 years old. Even where states insist on maintaining the death penalty, the EU considers that minimum standards must be respected, including that the death penalty may not be imposed on persons below the age of 18 years of age at the time of the commission of their crime, which is contrary to widely accepted human rights norms and the minimum standards set forth by the United Nations. Therefore, the EU strongly condemns these two death sentences imposed on juveniles that violate Sudan's obligations under Article 6 of the international covenant on civil and political rights and under Article 37 of the convention on the rights of the child. The EU requests the government to exploit or facilitate all possible means that these sentences are submitted to revision. The Central and Eastern European countries associated with the European Union, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA countries, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this declaration.