UN – World Day Against the Death Penalty (10 October 2023)

On this 21st World Day Against the Death Penalty, France reiterates its steadfast opposition to the death penalty everywhere and in all circumstances.

It hails the movement in support of the death penalty’s universal abolition, which four new countries joined this year. The adoption of the UN General Assembly resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty by an historic 125 nations in December 2022 is a step forward in this regard.

France deplores the fact that several nations continue to apply this cruel, unjust and inhumane punishment and calls on them to place it under a moratorium ahead of its ultimate abolition. It calls on all nations to sign and ratify the second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aimed at abolishing the death penalty.

On this 75th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, France remains more committed than ever to opposing the death penalty.