European offices to hold confab on death penalty

2008-10-19 CNA

TAIPEI, Taiwan –– The Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty (TAEDP) and three European offices in Taiwan will organize a series of activities in early November to encourage the abolition of the death penalty and help advance the debate on the issue in Taiwan, the alliance said Friday.

One of the centerpiece events will be a seminar Nov. 6-7 called “New Perspectives on Abolishing the Death Penalty, “ organized by the TAEDP and the German Institute in Taipei.

German scholars will discuss the issue from different perspectives, such as the relationship between the abolition of the death penalty and social safety, victim protection and prison reform.

“The objective of Taiwan’s Criminal Code is to re-educate and reform prisoners, not to kill them, “ said a TAEDP worker, who expected that the events will help promote human rights and encourage debate on the issue.

The worker, who only gave her surname Chiu because she only volunteers for the organization, also suggested that Taiwan should learn from Germany’s experience, which includes considerable achievements in prisoner re-education.

According to the TAEDP, no individual has been executed in Taiwan since 2005, but there are still 31 convicts who have been sentenced to death, including one who was sentenced on the Double Ten national holiday, which is also the World Day Against the Death Penalty.

In addition to the above seminar, the French office will hold a conference on Nov. 3 on “How Taiwan can move toward abolishing the death penalty,” in partnership with National Taipei University and the Taiwan Law Society, with the support of the European Economic and Trade Office.

Two French experts, Sylvie Bukhari de Pontual, a lawyer and member of the Bar of Paris, and Michel Forst, general secretary of the French National Consultative Commission for Human Rights, will talk about the need of criminal code reform regarding abolition of the death penalty and on the death penalty in the context of international law, according to the office.

A film featuring Robert Badinter, senator and former French Minister of Justice, who is renowned for his activism in support of abolishing capital punishment in France, will also be screened at the conference.

British experts will also speak on their experiences with Taiwan on Nov. 13 and 14. They will discuss how to advance the process of getting rid of the death penalty in Taiwan.