Council of Europe Secretary General Thorbjørn Jagland has given a keynote speech at the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Oslo.
In his speech, the Secretary General stressed that there is no convincing body of evidence to support the argument that capital punishment prevents crime.
He specifically urged the United States, which has observer status at the Council of Europe, to end its commitment to the death penalty.
The Secretary General also called on Belarus – the only country on the European continent to still use capital punishment – to stop executions as a key step towards joining the 47-nation Council of Europe.
"Let us work together until, finally, we can declare Europe a death penalty-free zone," he said. "And, in my lifetime, I hope to see a global moratorium too."