On World Day against the Death Penalty, EU and CoE call on Belarus to end executions
Today on the World and European Day Against the Death Penalty, the European Union and the Council of Europe reaffirm their opposition to the use of capital punishment in all circumstances and call for the universal abolition of the death penalty. We welcome the continued decline in the use of the death penalty, confirming the overall trend towards universal abolition.
In 2019, for a second consecutive year, executions were carried out in only 20 countries around the world.
Belarus is among the few, as it continued to pass death sentences and execute convicts.
“The Council of Europe and the EU once again urge Belarus, the only European Country still carrying out executions, to abolish the death penalty and join the large majority of nations that have abandoned this cruel and inhuman practice once and for all,“ the statement said.
Over the past 20 years, more than 400 death row inmates have been executed in Belarus. Three death sentences have been handed down in 2020.
