2015-03-14 14:10:00

(Vatican Radio) The office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) has welcomed the recent adoption by the parliaments of Suriname and Côte d’Ivoire of laws to eliminate capital punishment from their countries’ penal codes.

Listen to the report by Peter Kenny:

UNHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said the rights office hopes the new laws will shortly be signed and promulgated by the presidents of both countries.

“The decision in Suriname follows its commitment during its last UPR (Universal Periodical Review) to support the recommendations calling for the abolition of the death penalty,” she said. “Suriname has had a de facto moratorium on the death penalty in place since 1927. We hope that Suriname’s initiative will have a positive impact on the other countries in the region which have de facto moratoria, but still maintain the death penalty in their legal frameworks.”

The UN rights office is encouraging both Suriname and Côte d'Ivoire to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aims at the abolition of the death penalty.