The Ministers’ Deputies held a thematic discussion on the Abolition of the death penalty on April 10, 2024, with the participation of representatives from civil society.

The Presidency of Liechtenstein underlined its long-standing commitment on the abolition, and shared a video message of Ms Renate Wohlwend, former parliamentarian from Liechtenstein and former Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty: 

The Committee of Ministers then listened to the testimony of Mr Firmin Yangambi, former death-row prisoner in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the context of the recent lifting of the moratorium on executions in this country. Mr Yangambi is currently a lawyer at the International Criminal Court and President of the NGO “Paix sur terre”.

Then, Mr Matthew Goldberg, President of the World Coalition against the Death penalty, and Ms Aminata Niakaté, President of Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM) had the opportunity to take the floor.

The discussions with Permanent Representatives touched upon the promotion of the Abolition of the death penalty, and in particular the Council of Europe’s contribution to universal abolition.

After this exchange of views, the Ministers’ Deputies adopted a new decision on the abolition of the death penalty.