Enn um dauðarefsingar!

Á Evrópskum alþjóðadegi gegn dauðarefsingum í gær 10. október staðfestu Frakkar viðauka númer 13 við Mannréttindasáttmála Evrópu sem leggur blátt bann við  dauðarefsingum undir öllum kringumstæðum þ.á.m. vegna stríðsglæpa. Þessi dagur er afleiðing stefnumörkunar Evrópuráðsins en þar hafa Íslendingar verið virkir um áratugaskeið.

Mér virðist á viðbrögðum við færslu minni um dauðarefsingar í fyrradag að það sé ekki vanþörf á að viðra rökin gegn aftökum og snapa hingað af síðu Evrópuráðsins yfir á síðu mína grein Terry Davis, framkvæmdastjóra Evrópuráðsins um þetta efni:

 One day, in the not too distant future, the death penalty will be eradicated throughout the world. It may take time, but it will happen. It is an inevitable consequence of the slow but steady evolution towards ever higher standards of civilisation. Two centuries ago, the entire civilised world abolished slavery because it accepted that slavery was inhuman and wrong. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, the death penalty will meet the same fate.

In Europe, only Belarus continues to execute people. 47 other European countries, all of them being members of the Council of Europe, which Belarus is not, have signed Protocol 6 to our European Convention on Human Rights which outlaws this uncivilised and inhumane form of punishment in peace time.

The tide is also turning in other parts of the world. More and more countries in all continents are either abolishing the death penalty or critically reviewing its application. Experts, public opinion and the political establishment are increasingly accepting that the death penalty is barbaric, that it does not deter crime, that it does not help the victims of crime, and that it transforms murderers into martyrs and judicial errors into irreversible tragedies.

Europe can play a role in reinforcing the global trend towards abolition. Some of our closest friends and allies continue to execute people. We all know that the decision to abolish the death penalty must come from them. But until they decide to do so – and eventually, they will - we should not remain silent. Politely but persistently, we should encourage them to follow our example and say yes to justice and no to cruelty, torture and death.

But even in Europe, the abolition of death penalty is still unfinished business.

First, many Europeans are still in favour of the death penalty. This is not something we can ignore. We need to go out and explain to people why the death penalty is wrong, why it has been abolished, and why it should stay abolished.

Second, abolishing the death penalty must be accompanied by the introduction of adequate alternative sanctions – where these do not yet exist – which provide for the highest possible protection of the public and take into account the rights of the victims of crimes without compromising the fundamental principles of efficiency, proportionality and humanity of penal sanctions.

Third, in many countries which have abolished death penalty as a result of their accession to the Council of Europe – prisons are often in poor condition and fail to meet minimum standards in terms of space, security, health and living conditions. This is a problem for all prison populations, but especially for those serving long-term prison sentences. The Council of Europe Committee for the Prevention of Torture is regularly visiting places of detention in all European countries except non-member Belarus, and the recommendations and standards it has developed have helped to improve the situation to some extent, but not enough. Often, the problems are the shortage of money and the fact that investment in prisons is not popular so that it is not high on the political agenda.

Finally, we need to encourage all European countries which have not yet done so to sign and ratify Protocol 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which bans the death penalty in all circumstances. This will consolidate the legal prohibition of capital punishment in Europe and send an important signal to other parts of the world.

 

Athugasemdir

[Jón Valur Jensson, 11.10.2007 kl. 11:34]

Hér vantar nú að botna textann, Baldur, einmitt þar sem framhaldið gæti skipt máli.

[Baldur Kristjánsson, 11.10.2007 kl. 11:42]

Takk fyrir, hef leiðrétt.  Gott að sjá að einhver las þetta í gegn!  kv. B

[Jón Valur Jensson, 11.10.2007 kl. 17:31]

Það eru allir að lesa þig, Baldur minn.