UN-Flag-Reuters-670
- File Photo

UNITED NATIONS: A record 110 countries on Monday backed a resolution calling for the abolition of the death penalty voted every two years at a UN General Assembly committee.

The vote tears apart traditional alliances at the United Nations. The United States, Japan, China, Iran, India, North Korea, Syria and Zimbabwe were among 39 countries to oppose the non-binding resolution in the assembly's rights committee. 36 countries abstained.

Israel voted against its strong US-ally to join European Union nations, Australia, Brazil and South Africa among major countries backing the motion.

Norway, which played a leading role campaigning for the resolution, said on its Twitter account that the increased support was a “great result”.

At the last vote in 2010, 107 countries backed the resolution.

France's new Socialist government has launched a campaign with other abolitionist states to get the full General Assembly to pass a resolution in December calling for a death penalty moratorium. Though such a resolution would be non-binding, diplomats say it would increase moral pressure.

A world congress against the death penalty is to be held in Madrid in June.

According to the UN, about 150 countries have either abolished capital punishment or have instituted a moratorium.

Amnesty International says that China executed “thousands” of prisoners in 2011 though exact figures are hard to determine. It says that other countries put to death at least 680 people with Iran, Iraq and Saudi Arabia major users of capital punishment.

Amnesty says that progress is slowly being made however. Even in the US, Illinois last year became the 16th US state to abolish the death penalty.

Opinion

Editorial

The next deluge
Updated 16 Jul, 2025

The next deluge

Pakistan, and others vulnerable to climatic extremes, must heed the warning before the next deluge arrives — because it surely will.
FC revamp
16 Jul, 2025

FC revamp

WHAT’S in a name? The civilian paramilitary force hitherto known as the Frontier Constabulary will continue to...
Simplified tax forms
16 Jul, 2025

Simplified tax forms

THE rollout of a new interactive tax return form should ease filing by simplifying the procedure, addressing a...
Consolidating gains
Updated 15 Jul, 2025

Consolidating gains

It would not be incorrect to say that the economy is still just a shock away from relapsing into another crisis.
Second thoughts
15 Jul, 2025

Second thoughts

AND, just like that, the PTI’s ill-timed ‘Second Pakistan Movement’ seems to have been put to rest. The...
Wounded women
15 Jul, 2025

Wounded women

MORALITY is a woman’s burden to bear, and the chilling upsurge in gender-based crimes is a reminder of how...