US:The UN General Assembly has adopted a resolution calling for moratorium on the death penalty, despite opposition from the US, China and others that argued each state should be able to choose how to combat crime, writes Maggie Farleyin New York
The 104-54 vote on Tuesday for suspending executions is not legally binding. There were 29 abstentions. "There is no conclusive evidence of the death penalty's deterrence value and that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the death penalty's implementation is irreversible and irreparable," the proponents said in the resolution adopted by the 192-nation assembly.
Attempts in 1994 and 1999 to have the assembly adopt a moratorium on the death penalty failed. But since then, the number of countries that have abolished capital punishment in law or practice has grown to 133, according to Amnesty International.
"Today's vote represents a bold step by the international community," secretary general Ban Ki-moon said. "This is further evidence of a trend towards ultimately abolishing the death penalty." When Ban came into office in January, he responded to questions about the execution of Saddam Hussein by saying that each country should be allowed to choose its own policies, but quickly embraced the official UN anti-death penalty view.
The EU, which requires its 27 members to outlaw capital punishment, led the UN campaign. Italy's foreign minister Massimo D'Alema, came to New York for the vote and hailed it as "an important step". The Colosseum, once the stage of public executions, was to be illuminated on Tuesday night to celebrate the moratorium.
The United States joined China, Iran, Sudan and Syria in opposing the resolution, arguing that it interfered with their sovereign rights.
"Capital punishment remains legal under international law and Barbados wishes to exercise its sovereign right to use it as a deterrent to the most serious crimes," said the delegate from Barbados before the vote.
Amnesty International says China is the world leader in executions. China, Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Sudan and the US account for 91 per cent of all capital punishment.