The Sub-Committee on Human Rights (DROI) holds a public hearing on the death penalty in view of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Brussels

Subcommittee on Human Rights

respect for human rights in the world (T)

public hearing

HAUTALA, Heidi (Greens/EFA, FI)

death penalty (T)

Death penalty: extracts from the public hearing

https://api.multimedia.europarl.europa.eu/documents/20125/17104886/ebs72963Chapters%5BSD-EN%5D.srt

SOUNDBITE (English), Heidi HAUTALA (Greens/EFA, FI), The European Union holds a strong and principle position against the death penalty. The abolition of the death penalty worldwide represents one of the main objectives in EU's Human Rights policy, and where the death penalty still exists the EU calls for a use progressive restricted and insists that it would be carried out according to international minimum standards. Most importantly the issue will come up again in the United Nations General Assembly in the coming weeks.

SOUNDBITE (English), Clive STAFFORD SMITH, Human rights lawyer, Director, Reprieve, How we can make European intervention more and more and more effective? The first thing we have to do is nearly identify the people who are facing the death penalty in foreign countries and we -at Reprieve- are doing a project in the United States where we are observing all 3263 people on the death row to identify Europeans and other foreign nationals who are well about it. And indeed Mike Nowman who writes this letter to you from California says that his estimate is that at least 50 foreign nationals and probably 150 people who very close ties with foreign countries are in death row in California.

SOUNDBITE (Spanish), Alejandro SOUSA BRAVO, Legal Adviser of the Mexican Embassy, The Foreign Affairs Secretary in 2009 created the Legal Support Mechanism for Mexican on death row providing specialised legal support for Mexican nationals facing the death penalty in the US. The programme has developed in terms of its aims and scope since 2001 and now we are not just looking at the death penalty but also Mexican nationals who have committed an offence and who may potentially have been given the death penalty as a sentence.

SOUNDBITE (English), Rapha&#235;l CHENUIL-HAZAN, Executive Director, World Coalition against Death Penalty, Geographically, of course, Middle East, Asia and US remain our priorities; but we are also worried about the situation in Central America, especially in Guatemala and Nicaragua where ongoing debates are taking place.

SOUNDBITE (English), Rapha&#235;l CHENUIL-HAZAN, Legal Adviser of the Mexican Embassy, The reasons to hope are the recent moratoria in Mongolia, the possible future steps of Belarus, we are very optimistic about Belarus; the positive signs of African Gabon, Mali, Benin and so many other countries. And in Asia, a political will not to execute people in Pakistan and Indonesia for example.

SOUNDBITE (English), Michael TILEMANS, Chair, COHOM, Belgian Presidency of the Council, For us the most important overwritten priority is that this resolution would confirm and illustrate this increasing trend to support moratorium on the use of death penalty without -and that is also important- louring the standards of previous resolutions that have been adopted in this matter in 2007 and 2008.

SOUNDBITE (French), Veronique ARNAULT, Director of Multicultural relations and Human Rights, RELEX European Commission, By the moment, the EU policy is clear, our Mexican colleague talked about the Avena case that we should be talking about individuals whatever the nationality, sex or race minority of the person concern, that's part of human rights. So in terms of effectiveness we could have another look at this idea and there are two ways. We could work on here under the Lisbon Treaty; that is cooperation for consular protection among member states that is a very important stage right now; there is a group that takes care of consular protection within the member states.