UN / DEATH PENALTY
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STORY: UN / DEATH PENALTY
TRT: 2.46
SOURCE: UNIFEED - UNTV
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH /NATS
DATELINE: 24 APRIL 2014, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE
1. Exterior shot, UN Headquarters
24 APRIL 2014, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, conference room
3. Med shot, Ban shaking hands
4. SOUNDBITE (English), Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“An estimated 160 countries have either abolished the death penalty or no longer practice it. Most recently, Pakistan, the United Arab Emirates and the State of Washington in the United States decided to either establish a moratorium or to suspend executions.”
5. Med shot, podium
6. SOUNDBITE (English), Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“I deplore the fact that many States still execute people with little regard to due process. I am also deeply concerned that some States with long-standing de facto moratoriums have suddenly resumed executions, or are considering reintroduction of the death penalty in their legislation.”
7. Wide shot, audience
8. SOUNDBITE (English), Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“In death penalty cases, the odds are often stacked against the poor, ethnic minorities and other minority groups, who often lack access to effective legal representation - which is frequently the most important factor in determining whether a defendant will receive the death penalty.”
9. Wide shot, audience
10. SOUNDBITE (English), Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations:
“The use of the death penalty for non-violent acts, including sexual relations between consenting adults, is a violation of international human rights law. Such provisions may further encourage violence and discrimination against LGBT persons. Foreign nationals and migrant workers also remain disproportionately affected. These discriminatory practices in the imposition of the death penalty reinforce even further the calls for its universal abolition.”
11. Med shot, podium
12. SOUNDBITE (English), Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights:
“We have identified three factors as decisive for member-states to decide weather to abolish or to retain the death penalty. And these three factors are: wrongful convictions, deterring effect of death penalty and discriminations against marginalized groups disproportionally being affected by the death penalty.”
13. Wide shot, conference room
Speaking at the panel “Moving Away from the Death Penalty – Discrimination against marginalized groups”, the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon said that an estimated 160 countries in the world have now either abolish the death penalty or no longer practice it.
Ban also said that he is concerned that some states that had a moratorium on death penalty for a long time have resumed executions, “or are considering reintroduction of the death penalty in their legislation.”
“The odds are against poor, ethnic minorities and other minority groups, who often lack access to effective legal representation - which is frequently the most important factor in determining whether a defendant will receive the death penalty.” – said Ban.
Ban warned that the use of death penalty for non-violent acts, such as discrimination against LGBT people is a violation of international rights law.
“Foreign nationals and migrant workers also remain disproportionately affected. These discriminatory practices in the imposition of the death penalty reinforce even further the calls for its universal abolition.” – added Ban.
Ivan Šimonović, Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights reported that the UN has identified three factors that countries need to consider when deciding weather or not to abolish death penalty.
“Wrongful convictions, deterring effect of death penalty and discriminations against marginalized groups disproportionally being affected by the death penalty.” – reported Šimonović.
In 2012, 2013 and in January 2014 in New York, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) held a series of events on the death penalty, focusing on national experiences in moving away from the death penalty, wrongful convictions, and deterrence and public opinion.
These panel events drew on the experiences of senior officials and academic experts from various regions which, in recent years, have made progress through either outright abolition or the imposition of a moratorium, or through narrowing the basis for imposition of the death penalty. In addition, the failure of judicial review to capture error was deeply examined.
OHCHR, in cooperation with the Permanent Missions to the United Nations of Chile and Italy, is following up these events with a global panel event on the death penalty and discrimination, with a particular focus on the impact on marginalized groups.
The objectives of the panel are to share experiences from countries in which persons or groups are discriminated based on race, poverty or for being member of a vulnerable group such as minorities, persons with mental or intellectual disabilities, LGBT persons and foreign nationals.