Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2010-03-11-Speech-4-224"
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"en.20100311.18.4-224"2
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"Mr President, the fight against the death penalty lies at the heart of the EU’s human rights policy. The EU considers that capital punishment is a cruel and inhuman punishment which fails to deter criminal behaviour, while the abolition of capital punishment contributes to the enhancement of human dignity
We have been able to welcome a number of recent positive developments in the fight against the death penalty. In January this year, Mongolia announced a moratorium on the death penalty. During 2009 Burundi, Togo and the US State of New Mexico all abolished the death penalty. In 2007 the UN General Assembly for the first time adopted a resolution calling on states to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty; a further resolution in 2008 reaffirmed this call.
In this light, the EU was naturally disappointed at the judgment of the Constitutional Court of the Republic of Korea on 25 February – by a split vote of five to four – that the death penalty was in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution. We note, however, that this case revolved around the interpretation of the Korean Constitution; this was not a political decision on retention of the death penalty. We also particularly note the further views expressed by three of the five judges who found that the death penalty was in line with the Constitution. Judge Lee Kang-Kook and Judge Min Hyung-Ki made clear the need to limit the use of the death penalty and to reduce the number of crimes subject to capital punishment, while Judge Song Doo-hwan argued that any decision on the death penalty should be the subject of a public debate and action by the legislature.
Although the courts continue to pass death sentences, the Republic of Korea has maintained a moratorium on executions since 1997. There is no indication at present that the judgment of the Constitutional Court will affect this moratorium. We welcome Korea’s determination to maintain the moratorium on the implementation of executions.
At the same time, as the UN General Assembly resolution has noted, a moratorium should be seen not as an end in itself but as a step on the path towards complete abolition. Accordingly, the EU urges the Korean National Assembly to take steps as quickly as possible to abolish the death penalty. The Republic of Korea has long been a regional leader on human rights issues in Asia. Abolition of the death penalty would thus only confirm the Republic of Korea’s commitment to the protection and promotion of human rights."@en1
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