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News Releases
No. 102/07
October 9, 2007
THE EUROPEAN UNION IS UNITED AGAINST CAPITAL PUNISHMENT
European Commission President
José Manuel Barroso opened the conference
"Europe
against the Death Penalty" in Lisbon today.
 "The
European Union is unreservedly opposed to the use of
capital punishment under all circumstances and has
consistently called for the worldwide abolition of this
punishment," said President Barroso. "The death
penalty is against human dignity. We want to give
visibility to the efforts of the many non-governmental
organisations and individuals who strive, day after day,
towards the abolition of the death penalty."
The conference was co-organized with the
EU Council Presidency and the
Council of Europe, all
determined to abolish the death penalty across the
world.
European Commission Vice President
Franco Frattini,
Commissioner responsible for
Justice, Freedom and Security, added: "The death
penalty is a wild and revengeful parody of justice.
Today, we can affirm with pride that death penalty has
no place within the European model and confirm our
commitment to promote universal abolition."
A growing number of countries are abolishing the death
penalty: 133 countries have done so in practice or in
law.
In line with its common foreign policy objective to
develop and consolidate respect for
human rights, the EU has become the lead
institutional actor in the world against death penalty.
In June, the EU introduced a
resolution at the UN General Assembly proposing a
world-wide moratorium on executions.
The Commission has funded around 30 anti-death penalty
projects worldwide since 1994, with an overall budget of
about 15 million euros.
For more information:
http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/news/intro/news_intro_en.htm
http://www.eurunion.org/legislat/DeathPenalty/deathpenhome.htm
EU Insight:
The European Union:
Leading the Fight
Against Capital
Punishment.
Further Contact Information
Press and Public Diplomacy
Delegation of the European Commission
2300 M Street, NW
Washington, DC 20037
http://www.eurunion.org/PressRoom
Tel: 202-862-9552
Fax: 202-429-1766
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