EU Welcomes UN Vote Calling for a Global Moratorium on the Death Penalty

The EU welcomes the UN General Assembly's Human Rights Committee vote on a resolution calling for a global death penalty moratorium.

European Commission Vice President Franco Frattini said: "Once again, the European Union has expressed itself as a single and firm voice in protecting human rights. It has proved to be an efficient persuasive power in the world, steadily supporting any action in favor of human dignity. In this case, the death penalty being the most evident institutional disregard for this human dignity, such a UN Moratorium constitutes a step forward."

"This is a good day for human rights and the European goal of achieving the abolition of the death penalty all over the world," said EU External Relations Commissioner Benita Ferrero-Waldner.

The EU is unreservedly opposed to the use of capital punishment under all circumstances and has consistently called for worldwide abolition of the death penalty.

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