Worldwide Protests Against Guantanamo, Europe Proposes Worldwide Moratorium on the Death Penalty and Increasing Momentum towards Abolition in the USA
28 January 2007
Yesterday marked the 5th anniversary of the opening of Guantanamo Prison by the USA. To mark the anniversary, Amnesty International and others organised protests at US Consulates, Embassies and other Government buildings, to call for an end to Guantanamo. CLOSE GUANTANAMO was the theme and impressive turnouts of protesters made a significant public point. In Toronto a protest was held outside of the US Consulate on University Avenue. Protesters made a mock prison and dressed in orange jumpsuits. A public speaker from Amnesty spoke about the human rights abuses committed by the United States under the auspices of a so-called 'War on Terror.'
Another person has put-up a very good blog and video on the event here.
The European Union, in response to the gruesome executions of Saddam Hussein and his relatives (one of whom was literally beheaded due to a miscalculation in the hanging), has renewed calls for a worldwide moratorium on executions, with an aim to abolish the death penalty.
Hands Off Cain has carried this story for a while (as I've been on vacation I've only followed it from a distance).
All sorts of events in the United States and in Iraq are helping to turn the American stomach away from what was once a seemingly insatiable appetite for the Death Penalty. The recent increase in abolitionist leanings in Governorships, the lethal injection fiascos in Florida, California, Maryland and Ohio and the realisation by New Jersey that the whole system of death is pointless and a waste of money - they all add to the political momentum towards abolition.
Eliot Slosar writes in The Depaulia, of the seeming inevitability of abolition even in the United States. It is I hope a true prophesy that will someday soon help to wipe this continuing human rights violation off of North America. Canada and Mexico have already fully abolished, it is time our neighbour realised the wrongness of state sanctioned killing.
I'm Back in Canada
24 January 2007
I'm back now from my holidays - the death penalty and other Human Rights issues continue to generate a large amount of news lately and I will begin working again on this blog by this weekend. Until then I am likely to be too busy catching-up on things here.
In the meanwhile, please have a look at the current Amnesty Campaign: Close Guantanamo! or check-out the Close Guantanamo Flotilla of Protest!
Holidays and some things to keep you busy: Gitmo Papers Released, Italy to Push for Worldwide Abolition, New Jersey Recommends Abolition and New UN Head Dithering on Capital Punishment
02 January 2007
This may be the last blog entry I am able to make until about the 24th of January as I am going to be travelling. If I can manage a quick blog on the road then I might make one - if not, I'll be trying to keep a diary - some of which may make it onto a blog on something like my myspace page - but if I am able I will also keep a journal of Death Penalty and other related information to deposit here when I return.
So I will leave you with some interesting food for thought - albiet in a quick blog as it's getting late.
The FBI has released documents detailing some of the abuse allegations at Guantanamo Bay. There is a summary article by Matt Apuzzo of Associated Press in My Way News. The allegations detail techniques ranging from stress positions and physical methods to ones particularly aimed at Muslims and attacking their religious beliefs, particularly by using female interrogators and symbols of other religions.
Associated Press also reports that Italy will be pushing for a worldwide ban on the death penalty at the UN. Italy is one of the countries in the forefront of the abolition movement and this news follows the world's shock at the Saddam Hussein execution. According to the article, "On Sunday, Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema said his country
would work for the end of the death penalty worldwide following
denunciations across Europe of Saddam's hanging." Italy, home not only to Cesare Besccaria, one of the most influential abolitionists on penal reforms, but also the first abolition of the death penalty by a European state, decreed by Peter Leopold Joseph of Habsburg-Lorraine in 1786 for his Grand Duchy of Tuscany (source: wikipedia).
The New York Times reports that a legislative committee has recommended that New Jersey become the first state to abolish the death penalty since states reinstated death penalty legislation in 1976! According to the article, [the] report found “no compelling evidence” that capital punishment serves a legitimate purpose, and increasing evidence that it “is inconsistent with evolving standards of decency.”
The New UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, is dithering on the death penalty. Contrary to previous leadership on the issue and clear UN policies favouring abolition as positive to human rights, Ban Ki-moon has refused to discuss his personal views on the death penalty. His home nation of South Korea is retentionist and one of very few democracies to retain the death penalty. IPS News reports that rather than comment on the issue, Ban Ki-moon simply spoke about the crimes for which Hussein was accused - although not about the unfair court process used to try and give a semblance of due process. Ban Ki-moon will have to do some serious homework on the UN position on the death penalty and on fair trial standards if he can be expected to uphold these values. The ECOSOC Safeguards were clearly violated in Iraq and continue to be violated in countless other trials. Ban Ki-moon is off to a disappointing start in what should have been a golden opportunity to make a positive statement on Universal Human Rights.
2006 Review
01 January 2007
2006, despite finishing on the note of the convtroversial execution of Saddam Hussein, has been a remarkable year for the worldwide trend to abolish the death penalty. According to the January 2006 Amnesty Death Penalty Bulletin, at the start of 2006 there were 86 Fully Abolitionist countries, 11 Abolitionist for Ordinary Crimes only and 25 Abolitionist de facto countries (totalling 125 countries that have abolished or do not use the death penalty) and 74 countries that retained the death penalty (and had used it within the past 10 years).
At the close of 2006, 88 countries have fully abolished the death penalty (including the Phillipines that had re-introduced the death penalty several years ago), 11 Abolitionist for Ordinary Crimes only, 29 Abolitionist de facto countries (totalling 128 countries) and only 69 countries that are retentionist.
Coupled with these changes, several countries look ever more promising to remove the death penalty including Rwanda, Kyrgyzstan and Russia. Several US states have been examining challenges to the lethal injection process that have recently resulted in suspension of executions in several states including Florida, Maryland and California.
The world has spoken out vociferously against the death penalty. The stance of the UN, the Vatican and the EU have all clearly shown support for abolition. While there have been a few set-backs it is clear that the overall trend is positive and that we have good reason to believe that this important aspect of human rights will someday soon be recognised and respected universally.
My December 2006 Blog is available online, including my commentary on the execution of Saddam Hussein.