EU wants Bangladesh to abolish death penalty

The ambassadors of the European countries in Dhaka hope that Bangladesh will implement the UN resolutions to abolish death penalty.

On the European Day against the Death Penalty and the World Day against the Death Penalty, the ambassadors wrote a letter to the editors on Oct 10.

In the letter, they cited different UN resolutions that called upon States to abolish death penalty completely or to enforce a moratorium on executions until that happens.

“EU also hopes that Bangladesh, as a Member of the United Nations Human Rights Council, will take all necessary actions to implement the UN Resolutions, and thereby fully contribute to the enhancement of fundamental rights and human dignity in the world,” read the letter.

The European Union, which is the largest trading partner of Bangladesh, reaffirms its principled opposition to the use of the death penalty and reiterates that capital punishment is “inhumane and unnecessary”.

“No legal system is flawless; any miscarriage of justice could lead to the tragic loss of an innocent life,” they wrote.

“The State, with its particular responsibility as the ultimate guarantor of human rights for all , should not deprive anyone of his or her fundamental, inherent and inalienable right to life.”

Ambassador of EU delegation to Bangladesh Pierre Mayaudon, British High Commissioner Alison Blake, Chargé d'Affaires of the Embassy of Denmark Jakob Haugaard, Swedish Ambassador Johan Frisell, French Ambassador Sophie Aubert, Italian Ambassador Mario Palma, German Ambassador Thomas Heinrich Prinz, Spanish Ambassador Eduardo de Laiglesia y del Rosal, and Ambassador for Netherlands Leoni Cuelenaere signed the letter.

The 28-country bloc, EU, never supports death penalty in any circumstances and campaigns globally against the practice.

Despite a marked trend towards abolition and restriction of the use of capital punishment, it says, the number of States maintaining death penalty in their legal systems remains “high”.

“Actively supported by countries from all regions, the EU uses all available means in working towards the goal of abolishing the death penalty throughout the world.”