廢止死刑

文章來源：歐盟通訊 2009年1月

廢止死刑

歐盟反對任何案件判決死刑，歐盟一向支持全面廢除死刑，也始終朝這目標努力。歐盟理事會煞費苦心訂定一系列的人權指導方針，作為在第三世界國家推動或保護人權的架構。迄今，這些方針涉及的範圍包括死刑、迫害或各種形式的虐待、與第三世界國家進行人權對話、因武裝衝突而受害的孩童、人權鬥士及推動與保護兒童人權等。

歐洲委員會Ferrero-Waldner委員呼籲大家為全面廢止死刑繼續努力 

在世界與歐洲日反死刑的場合中，歐盟對外關係事務及歐洲地區政策委員Benita Ferrero-Waldner表示：「我為歐盟在國際間提倡廢除死刑的領導角色感到驕傲，雖然世界一半以上的國家已經廢除死刑條文，或者停止執行死刑，全球的死刑案件依然過高。我完全可以體會暴力犯罪受害者的痛苦，但是死刑無法解決問題，反而助長暴力與報復文化。歐洲委員會將透過所有可行的外交途徑，傾注心力全面廢除死刑，在這方面肩負起主要推動者的角色。」 

歐盟鼓勵大眾辯論，強化公眾反對死刑的力量，也鼓勵依然執行死刑的國家廢除死刑，至少推動暫緩執行死刑，作為廢除死刑的第一步。歐盟也在類似場合國等多邊政壇中反對死刑，最值得稱道的成果是2007年12月18日聯合國大會決議暫緩執行死刑。由於死刑是歐洲民主與人權倡議(EIDHR)的重要議題，歐盟在政治方面承認的具體計畫，已經獲得實質的財務支持。

● 92個國家及地區已從所有的罪犯中廢除死刑。

● 已有10個國家全部廢除死刑，除非是特殊的戰爭罪行。

● 有35個國家實務上已經廢除死刑，儘管他們仍然保有死刑的法

規條文，但過去已有10年以上未執行死刑，一般認為這些國家將

訂定一個新的政策或措施，取代死刑。

因此，共有137個國家已經廢除死刑條文，或不再執行死刑。2005年迄今，就有10個國家廢止死刑。

不過全世界執行死刑的案例依然非常高，2007年這一年，至少有1,252人在24個國家被處決，另外有3,347人在51個國家被宣判死刑。在所有處決死刑的案例中，88%集中在中國、伊朗、沙烏地阿拉伯、巴基斯坦與美國等五個國家。做為一個反對死刑的世界領袖，歐盟仍須積極採取必要的行動。

雖然台灣並未正式宣告暫緩執行死刑，政府也不曾提出明確的廢除死刑政策，不過台灣已有三年未判死刑，因此台灣在仍舊執行死刑的20個國家中已被除名，這對台灣雖然是個進步的好現象，仍然應該籲請政府研擬適當的措施，徹底取代死刑。 

This article from EU NEWSLETTER, JANUARY 2009 

Abolition of the Death Penalty

The European Union (EU) is opposed to the death penalty in all cases and has consistently espoused universal abolition by working towards this goal. The Council of the EU drafted a series of human rights guidelines which serve as a framework for protecting and promoting human rights in third countries. So far, these guidelines cover the death penalty, torture and other forms of ill-treatment, human rights dialogues with third countries, children affected by armed conflicts, human rights defenders and the promotion and protection of children’s rights.

Commissioner Ferrero-Waldner called for continued efforts to achieve universal abolition of the death penalty

On the occasion of the World and European Day against the Death Penalty, Commissioner for External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy Benita Ferrero-Waldner said: “I am proud of the EU’s leading role in the international efforts to abolish the death penalty. Although over half the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice, the global figures for its use remain much too high. I fully recognise the plight of victims of violent crime, but the death penalty is not the solution. On the contrary, it only serves to aggravate a culture of violence and retribution. The Commission is determined to work towards the universal abolition of the death penalty through all available diplomatic channels and as a leading donor in this field.”

The EU encourages public debate, strengthens public opposition and encourages retentionist countries to abolish the death penalty or at least to introduce a moratorium as a first step. The EU also acts against the death penalty in multilateral fora such as the United Nations. Its work here culminated in the resolution on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 18 December 2007. The EU’s political commitment has been matched by substantial financial support for concrete projects, given that the death penalty is one of the priorities under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR).

● 92 countries and territories have abolished the death penalty for all crimes;

● 10 countries have abolished the death penalty for all but exceptional crimes such as wartime crimes;

● 35 countries can be considered abolitionist in practice; they retain the death penalty in law but have not carried out any executions for the past 10 years or more and are believed to have a policy or established practice of not carrying out executions.

This makes a total of 137 countries which have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Since 2005, ten countries have abolished the death penalty.

However, figures on the application of the death penalty around the world still remain high. In 2007, at least 1252 people were executed in 24 countries, and at least 3 347 people were sentenced to death in 51 countries. Of all known executions, 88% took place in five countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan and the USA. EU action, as the worldwide leader in the fight against the death penalty, remains urgent and necessary.

Although Taiwan has issued no formal declaration of a “moratorium” (to stop the implementation of the death penalty) and the Government has not yet put forward

a clear policy to abolish the death penalty, Taiwan has not applied the death penalty for three years. Therefore, Taiwan is no longer among the 20 members of the international

community who still apply the death penalty. Although this is positive progress for Taiwan, the Government should still be called upon to put forward appropriate measures to complete the replacement of the death penalty.