Asian Regional Congress on the death penalty (Kuala Lumpur, 11-12 June 2015)
The Asian Regional Congress on the death penalty will take place at Renaissance Hotel in Kuala Lumpur (Metro stations : KL Monorail Bukit Nanas Station or Kelana Jaya Line - Dang Wangi) on June 11th and 12th, 2015.
Two plenary sessions, two roundtables, four workshops and one testimonies session will take place over two days of debates.
| PRESENTATION OF THE CONGRESS Since 2001, Together Against the Death Penalty (Ensemble contre la peine de mort – ECPM) has organised World Congresses against the death penalty. These international events bring together thousands of members from civil society, political representatives, lawyers and experts from the five continents with the aim to create new strategies for universal abolition. After Strasburg in 2001, Montreal in 2004, Paris in 2007, Geneva in 2010 and Madrid in 2013, the 6th World Congress will take place in Oslo under the sponsorship of Norway. Since 2012, the World Congress has been preceded by a Regional Congress. After the 1st Regional Congress in Rabat (Morocco, October 2012), the 2nd Regional Congress on the Death Penalty will take place in Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia) in June 2015. WHY A REGIONAL CONGRESS IN ASIA? Asia is the first retentionist region worldwide. The number of people executed in Asia remains higher than the total number of executions in the rest of the world. Several countries in the region do not publish any statistics regarding death penalty use and the public opinion that supports capital punishment is still a major challenge to face. Indeed, in 2013, at least 37 executions were reported in 10 countries within the region, and more than a thousand death sentences were pronounced in 17 countries. However, reflecting the international trend, the abolition of capital punishment has increased these past ten years in Asia. The number of executions has decreased, governments have imposed more rigorous restrictions to limit the use of the death penalty and a more open debate has been launched. Over the last decade, five countries in the region have abolished the death penalty for all crimes, Nepal in 1997, Bhutan in 2004, the Philippines and Cambodia in 2006, and last but not least Mongolia in 2012. In spite of this progress, there are still numerous challenges to be faced in order to abolish capital punishment in the region. Some set-backs have put this progression into perspective: India and Pakistan resumed executions and extended the scope of capital punishment respectively in 2012 and 2014; Indonesia and Singapore resumed executions as well. In this context, tackling death penalty in Asia and particularly in East and South East Asia, is an absolute priority. More information (presentation file) Website of the Congress |