EU Policy On The Death Penalty

Excerpt from the Speech by Minister for Foreign Affairs Tarja Halonen at the 54th UN General Assembly, New York, September 21, 1999

The EU is committed to opposing the death penalty. We call on all those States that still impose the death penalty to progressively restrict the offences for which it may be used and insists that it be carried out according to minimum standards. As a first step, a moratorium on executions should be established. The final aim must remain a complete abolition of the death penalty. The EU will actively pursue this matter in this session.