2015-09-12 09:00:00

UN welcomes movement away from death penalty in China and India


(Vatican Radio)  United Nations special experts have welcomed recommendations made in India and China to reduce the number of crimes subject to the death penalty.

Listen to Peter Kenny's report:

The U.N. Special Rapporteurs on Summary Executions and Torture welcomed the recommendation made by the Indian Law Commission to abolish the death penalty.

They also hailed the recent decision by the Chinese authorities to reduce the number of crimes subject to the death penalty.

On August 31, the Indian Law Commission found that the death penalty does not serve as a deterrent. It recommended its abolition for all crimes, except terrorism-related offences and waging war.

The commission had been tasked by the Supreme Court to study the issue of the death penalty in India.

South African law professor and UN special expert, Christof Heyns said "The conclusions and recommendations of the Indian Law Commission represent an important voice in favour of the abolition of the death penalty in India."

He encouraged the Indian authorities to implement the recommendations and to move towards the complete abolition of the death penalty for all offences.

In its report, the Indian Law Commission noted while on death row, the prisoner "suffers from extreme agony, anxiety and debilitating fear arising out of an imminent, yet uncertain execution."

Also in late August, China amended several provisions of its criminal law after the session of the National People's Congress Standing Committee.

China replaced the death penalty by life imprisonment for smuggling of weapons, ammunition, nuclear materials, and counterfeit currency; fraudulently raising funds; arranging for a person or forcing a person to carry out prostitution; the obstruction of duty of a police officer; and creating rumours during wartime to mislead people.

UN expert Juan Mendez said that "By adopting these amendments to its criminal code, China has made progress in the right direction," and this needs to be encouraged.








All the contents on this site are copyrighted ©.