I have the honour to speak on behalf of the EU and its Member States.

1. The EU reaffirms its strong and unequivocal opposition to the use of the death penalty in all cases and in all circumstances. Capital punishment violates the inalienable right to life and is incompatible with human dignity. The death penalty does not serve as an effective deterrent to crime and makes any miscarriage of justice irreversible. No legal system is safe from judicial errors, which may lead to the loss of innocent lives.

2. The EU appreciates the leading role the Council of Europe continues to play in this area and welcomes the statement of the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe at the high-level panel on the issue of the death penalty during the 58th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva.

3. The next World Congress against the death penalty in France, in 2026, provides an excellent opportunity for continued coordination with relevant actors to work towards our common goal: a death penalty-free European continent and the universal abolition of capital punishment.

4. The EU encourages the Council of Europe to continue with its youth education programmes and its outreach activities towards the Belarussian youth and the youth from southern countries (i.e. through the North-South Centre). The EU also encourages the Council of Europe to continue to implement the new multilateral co-operation programme “Death is not Justice: Abolition of the Death Penalty in Europe and Beyond”. 

5. The EU welcomes the workshop titled “Tackling the trade in goods used for torture and death penalty” that took place on 24 November last year in Strasbourg and looks forward to its follow-up. 

6. The EU reiterates the strong call on the authorities of Belarus, the only country in Europe to still apply the death penalty, to stop all executions pending abolition, and to apply the alternative punishment provided for in the Belarusian criminal legislation.

7. The EU encourages the remaining Council of Europe member State to ratify Protocol No 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights to do so as a matter of priority.

8. We regret that capital punishment continues to be applied, including in countries that are observer States to the Council of Europe. The EU regrets the executions that have been carried out in several US states since the start of the year and the resumption of capital punishment in several other US states after a prolonged period of interlude.

9. To conclude, the EU calls upon them to establish a moratorium as a first step towards its complete abolition, in line with the trend towards its abolition worldwide, and welcomes the Council of Europe’s readiness to share its experience with its observer States, through initiatives in conjunction with them. 

Alignments: Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Republic of Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Norway, San Marino, Serbia, and Ukraine.