EU praises SL govt. stance on death penalty

9 October 2015 07:41 am

The European Union’s Mission in Sri Lanka today praised Justice Minister Wijeyadasa Rajapaksha’s announcement that Sri Lanka would vote in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution on a moratorium on the Death Penalty.

Issuing a joint statement in view with the International Day against the Death Penalty which falls today, the Mission said Death Penalty represents an unacceptable denial of human dignity and violates the right to life universally affirmed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and reaffirmed in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

“The death penalty is a cruel and ineffective punishment. The European Union, Norway and Switzerland oppose the Death Penalty in all circumstances. Its worldwide abolition is a priority there is no evidence to prove that the Death Penalty deters crime,” the statement said.

It further noted that that Death Penalty is irreversible and thus mistaken identity and wrongful convictions could also happen from death penalty.

“Many death sentences are issued after confessions obtained by torture. Innocent people die and a person more likely to be sentenced to death if they are poor or belong to an ethnic or religious minority,” it said.

Last year, at least 22 countries around the world carried out executions and at least 2,466 people were sentenced to death.

Many of those convicted spend years on Death Row, waiting to see if a reprieve will be granted. Sri Lanka currently has more than 400 prisoners under sentence of Death.

“Hundred and one countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Make your voice heard for Sri Lanka to be part of the solution – not part of the problem. Tweet #NoDeathPenalty,” the Mission requested.