Abolition of death penalty and fight against torture

The European Union is strongly opposed to the death penalty. The death penalty is incompatible with human dignity and the inalienable right to life. It violates the right to live free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. There is no evidence to suggest that it acts as a deterrent to crime. 

Where retained, it can become a tool for instilling fear, repressing opposition, and quashing the legitimate exercise of human rights, such as the rights to the freedoms of expression, association and assembly. 

Compliance with the principle of non-discrimination remains of huge concern when considering the application of the death penalty. Data indicate discrimination in the application of the death penalty, including on the basis of poverty, economic vulnerability, political opinion, sexual orientation or gender identity, sex, psycho-social disability, and other grounds. Furthermore, no justice system is perfect or free from wrongful convictions. In practice, death penalty sentences remain hard to overturn and the death penalty remains irreversible.

Significant progress has been made towards achieving full-world abolition. Today, two-thirds of all the world’s countries have abolished capital punishment in law or practice. The UN General Assembly made history in December 2024 when a record 131 countries voted in favour of a resolution calling for a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty with a view towards its ultimate abolition.

The EU is a leading political actor and the world’s largest donor in the fight against the death penalty. The EU remains committed to working towards the abolition of the death penalty in countries that still make use of capital punishment – including by working together with governments to explore alternatives to the death penalty and by supporting human rights defenders. 

In line with the EU Guidelines on the Death Penalty, the EU consistently raises the issue in political or human rights dialogues with countries that still use capital punishment. It encourages the abolition of the death penalty or, as a first step, the introduction of a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. 

International law severely restricts the conditions under which the death penalty may be applied. The EU continues to call for the respect of these international minimum standards by countries still using this inhuman punishment, including that the death penalty should be imposed only for the most serious crimes and that internationally agreed-upon due process safeguards must be fully observed. 

The EU calls on all States that retain the death penalty to promote an open and democratic debate towards its abolition. With this in mind, States should improve transparency and access to accurate information on the death penalty procedure, policy, and practice.

Civil society remains at the forefront of the global fight against the death penalty. The EU continues to strengthen partnerships with the aim of achieving this goal in law and in practice. 

Specifically, we partner with the Global Consortium for Death Penalty Abolition, which has strong membership in 53 countries, and for example with experts on advocacy, campaigning, legal representation and complex casework. This work often takes place in challenging contexts and also tackles related themes such as drug policies, penal reform, terrorism, and torture. It may involve, for example, engaging religious communities, parliamentarians and people who have been cleared of a capital crime after previously having been convicted. The partnership is complemented by further EU support to advance abolition through initiatives such as the World Congress against the Death Penalty. 

The prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment is absolute in international law. The EU's strong commitment to the fight against torture and ill-treatment is enshrined in the European Union Treaties and Charter of Fundamental Rights.

The EU follows a comprehensive approach to eradicate torture (prohibition, prevention, accountability of perpetrators, redress for the victims) using all the political and financial tools at its disposal. This is reflected in the EU Guidelines on torture and ill treatment.

The EU encourages all countries to ratify and effectively implement the UN Convention against Torture and its optional protocol (OPCAT) and cooperate with the UN Committee against Torture as well as other monitoring mechanisms. It also promotes the Global Alliance for Torture-Free Trade, a cross-regional effort bringing together more than 60 countries committed to ending trade in goods used for capital punishment and torture, and supports the establishment of international standards in this field.

European Union, 2024

On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, the EU called for a zero-tolerance policy to torture and other ill-treatment and emphasised the importance of the Convention Against Torture as one of the most critical instruments for torture prevention and the support of survivors.

The United Against Torture Consortium (UATC) is an EU-funded project that pools the strengths and expertise of six organisations (OMCT, IRCT, FIACAT, APT, Omega Research Foundation, REDRESS) into the world’s leading anti-torture partnership with over 200 civil society organisations and other partners in 100+ countries to strengthen and expand torture prevention, protection, rehabilitation and accountability. 

Eradicating torture requires a united and collaborative effort: the EU partner organisations work together to amplify their impact and foster resilience, transforming the anti-torture movement into a powerful collective voice. The EU’s financial support to the Consortium amounts to €8 million. 

In 2024, the Consortium launched the Voices for Human Dignity multimedia initiative to mark the 40th anniversary of the Convention against Torture by raising the voices of torture survivors, experts, and activists. 

In 2025, Consortium members launched the Global Anti-Torture Index, a pioneering tool with robust, data-driven insights and trend analysis regarding the risks of torture and ill-treatment across countries.