At their 1495^th meeting on 10 April 2024, the Ministers’ Deputies held a thematic discussion on the abolition of the death penalty and in particular the Council of Europe's contribution to universal abolition, with the participation of: Firmin Yangambi, former death row prisoner in the Democratic Republic of Congo, currently a lawyer at the International Criminal Court and President of "Paix sur terre"; Matthew Goldberg, President of the World Coalition against the Death Penalty; and Aminata Niakaté, President of Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM). The Deputies also heard a video message from Renate Wohlwend, former Parliamentary Assembly General Rapporteur on the abolition of the death penalty. Following the thematic discussion, the Deputies proceeded with their six-monthly review of the situation of the abolition of the death penalty.
 
The Deputies held their final exchange of views with Síofra O’Leary, the first woman to have been elected as President of the European Court of Human Rights, and expressed their deepest appreciation and gratitude for her outstanding service to the Court, the wider Convention system and the cause of human rights protection in Europe.
 
In addition, the Deputies heard a communication by Despina Chatzivassiliou, Secretary General of the Parliamentary Assembly, on the preparation of the 2^nd part of the 2024 Session (Strasbourg, 15-19 April 2024) and other Assembly activities. They also adopted a Recommendation to member States on reporting of disappearances of medicinal products for human and veterinary use from the legal supply chain, and approved the draft agenda of the 133^rd Session of the Committee of Ministers.
 
The other items examined by the Deputies appear in the Agenda and the decisions adopted are available in the meeting file.