The Committee of Ministers deplores the execution of five persons in the United States since the beginning of 2016. It recalls that capital punishment contravenes the principles set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and in the European Convention on Human Rights and reiterates its appeal to the United States authorities to introduce a moratorium on the death penalty as a first step towards abolition.
The Committee of Ministers is following with concern the debate relating to the lifting of the moratorium on executions in the State of California following the possible introduction of a new lethal injection protocol. It urges the Californian authorities not to go back on the moratorium put in place in 2006 so as to ensure that the death penalty remains a thing of the past.
See also:
European Day against Death Penalty File
The United States and the Council of Europe
