Say NO to the death penalty in Belarus

The Embassy of France in Belarus holds a series of events dedicated to the struggle for the abolition of capital punishment, including a discussion in "Facebook" and "VKontakte", officially opened by Elsa Pignol, Counselor for Cooperation and Cultural Action in Belarus, and a public viewing of the film “Abolition”, followed by a discussion.

The discussion on the death penalty in the pages of "Facebook" and "VKontakte" has been opened for debate since October 6.

"October 10, 2014 the World Day Against the Death Penalty is marked for the 12th time.

France's position is that the abolition of the death penalty worldwide is one of the priorities in the field of human rights. France, like the rest of the European Union, states that the death penalty is cruel and inhuman punishment, and its abolition helps to protect the right to life. No legal system is immune from miscarriage of justice, which can lead to loss of a human life. Death penalty doesn't help to combat the crime, it rather represents the defeat of justice.

France abolished the death penalty in 1981. February 19, 2007, an appropriate amendment was introduced in the French Constitution, and now the death penalty is prohibited at the constitutional level.

France actively supports all resolutions of the UN General Assembly calling for a moratorium on the imposition of the death penalty worldwide. Currently 99 countries have abolished the death penalty, in 8 states it does not apply for the commission of criminal offenses, 33 countries have introduced a moratorium on the use of the death penalty moratorium, which makes a total of 140 states. However, at the same time, the death penalty is still applied on the territory of 58 countries.

In 2011, 23 countries were using the death penalty, which is two countries less than in 2010, although the total number of executions has increased in Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, China.

What does the death penalty mean for you? How do you perceive a worldwide campaign for its abolition?"

French Embassy invites all to actively discuss the issues raised by Elsa Pignol.

An exhibition of thematic posters, presented by "Human Rights Defenders against the Death Penalty in Belarus," is being held in the waiting room of the visa department of the Embassy.

The view of the film by Jean-Daniel Verhaeghe "Abolition" will take place on October 13 (starting at 6 p.m.) in the French cinema club. The discussion will be held by the First Counselor of the Embassy of France Elsa Pignol and a teacher of the Franco-Belarusian Center for European Studies, Charlotte Laurent.

The French Embassy in Belarus holds events dedicated to the struggle for the abolition of capital punishment on October 6-14 as part of a worldwide campaign for the abolition of the death penalty, which is one of the priorities of French diplomacy.