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Our 2010 project asked for the universal abolition of the death penalty. For us it’s simple. The death penalty is a violation of human rights. Article 5 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.” How does that fit with beheading, stoning, hanging, lethally injecting or shooting someone? The problem is that there’s no going back on a death sentence. And in a world where every judicial system makes mistakes, it’s inevitable that innocent people will be executed. Which is simply not acceptable. More than two thirds of countries in the world agree, and have banned executions. Sadly, shamefully, 58 still persist in killing people in the name of “justice.” In 2009, countries with the highest number of executions were Iran (with at least 388 executions), Iraq (at least 120), Saudi Arabia (at least 69), and the United States (52). In China information regarding the death penalty remains a secret, but estimates show that China executes more people than the rest of the world combined. But there is hope - the number of people being executed around the world appears to be declining. And in December 2010 the United Nations General Assembly has adopted a third resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The result is that the Secretary-General is requested to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session on the implementation of this third resolution. So while this isn't the perfect result we were hoping for, it represents significant progress. We can now see the beginnings of a genuine global movement towards abolition - and that can only be a good thing. We'd like to congratulate everyone who was worked towards this together with us.

Affiche politique --- Mort, thème --- Iconographie --- Concours