EU Policy On The Death Penalty
Royal Danish Embassy
Washington, DC
EU Presidency
Governor Ronnie Musgrove
Office of the Governor
Post Office Box 139
Jackson, MS 39205
27.USA.1
16 December, 2002
Dear Governor Musgrove,
The
European Union has learnt that Mr. Ronald Chris Foster is to be executed in the
State of Mississippi on January 8, 2003. On behalf of the European Union, Denmark,
as current
President, together with Greece, the subsequent President, and the European
Commission would like to make an urgent humanitarian appeal to spare the life
of Mr. Foster.
Mr.
Foster was 17 years old at the time of the crime, for which he has been sentenced
to death. The European Union considers that in those countries, which have not
yet abolished the death penalty, this penalty should not be imposed on persons
under the age of 18 at the time of the crime.
The
European Union opposes the death penalty in all cases and accordingly aims at
its universal abolition, seeking a global moratorium on the death penalty as a
first step, as
explained in the EU memorandum on the Death Penalty (it can be found on the web
page:
www.eurunion.org/legislat/deathpenalty/eumemorandum.htm).
In countries that maintain the death penalty, the EU aims at the progressive restriction
of its scope and respect for the strict conditions set forth in several international
human rights instruments, under which the capital punishment may be used.
The EU
strongly believes that the execution of juvenile offenders is contrary to widely
accepted human rights norms and the minimum standards of human rights set forth
by the United Nations. A significant number of treaties, including treaties signed
and ratified by the United States, prohibit such executions, specifically the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the
American Convention on Human Rights. Article 6 of the ICCPR – to which the
United States is a party – explicitly forbids the execution of juvenile offenders.
We therefore respectfully urge you, Governor, to take these factors into account
and to exercise all the powers vested in your office to grant Mr. Ronald Chris
Foster relief from the death penalty.
Royal Danish Embassy
3200 Whitehaven Street, NW
Washington, DC 20008-3683
(202) 234-4300 Fax (202) 328-1470
E-mail: wasamb@um.dk
Website: http://www.denmarkemb.org/
