The European Union (EU) has called on Caribbean countries which retain the penalty to formalise their unofficial moratorium on the punishment.The EU made the recommendation at the recently concluded Caribbean Regional Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty held at the Arthur Chung International Conference Centre.
The conference hosted in collaboration with the International Commission against the Death Penalty, also recommended that countries that still have capital punishment respect international and regional human rights law and standards relating to the death penalty; continued engagement with governments in the Caribbean region as they take steps towards eventual abolition of the death penalty; the strengthening of justice system structures, including ensuring that it is sufficiently resources, that it has the capacity of effectively investigating crimes, ensuring that victims are supported, ensuring adequate legal assistance to vulnerable sections of society; and advance human rights education as part of the curriculum for citizenship studies.
The conference concludes that there have been and always will be cases of executions of innocent people.
“No matter how developed a justice system is, it will always remain susceptible to human failure. Unlike prison sentences, the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable.
“The death penalty is often used in a disproportional manner against the poor, minorities and members of racial, ethnic, political and religious groups.
“The death penalty violates the right to life, which happens to be the most basic of all human rights. It also violates the right not to be subjected to torture and other cruel, inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment. Furthermore, the death penalty undermines human dignity, which is inherent to every human being,” the EU said in a statement that includes the recommendation and conclusions of the recently held forum.

Lacks deterrent effect
It added that the death penalty lacks the deterrent effect, which is commonly referred to by its advocates.
The General Assembly of the United Nations had recently stated: “There is no conclusive evidence of the deterrent value of the death penalty” (UNGA Resolution 65/206).
“It is noteworthy that in many retentionist states, the effectiveness of the death penalty in order to prevent crime is being seriously questioned by a continuously increasing number of law enforcement professionals.
“Public support for the death penalty does not necessarily mean that taking away the life of a human being by the state is right. There are undisputed historical precedents where gross human rights violations had had the support of a majority of the people, but which were condemned vigorously later on,” the EU said.
The EU also said that it is the job of leading figures and politicians to underline the incompatibility of capital punishment with human rights and human dignity.
“It needs to be pointed out that public support for the death penalty is inextricably linked to the desire of the people to be free from crime. However, there exist more effective ways to prevent crime,” the European governing body noted.
The conference was funded by the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights and the British High Commission in Guyana.
Twenty-five participants came from Europe and the Caribbean region, as well as numerous participants from Guyana. The European External Action Service, the International Commission against the Death Penalty, the UK All Party Parliamentary Group on Abolition of the Death Penalty, the World Coalition against the Death Penalty, Greater Caribbean for Life, Parliamentarians for Global Action, Guyana Human Rights Association, Justice Institute Guyana, Human Rights Commission Belize, National Human Rights Defence Network Haiti, and the Ministry of Legal Affairs of Guyana also participated at the conference.

Cities for Life Day
Meanwhile, today is Cities for Life Day when cities around the world celebrate the abolition of the death penalty.
On this day in 1786, the Grand Duchy of Tuscany became the first civil state in the world to get rid of capital punishment.
Over 414,000,000 South Americans can join in today’s celebrations. Each and every one of them lives in a country that has abolished the death penalty, the Justice Institute Guyana said, but noted that Guyana still retains the death penalty.
“The Justice Institute Guyana calls upon the government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to begin immediately a national inquiry into the causes and factors which contribute to murder in Guyana. The Justice Institute notes that the Guyanese people did not choose to have the death penalty. It is the result of colonialism. On 26th May 2016, Guyana will celebrate 50 years as an Independent state. The Justice Institute Guyana calls on the government of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana to begin an immediate public education campaign with a view to abolishing the death penalty no later than midnight on the 25th May 2016. This great Golden Jubilee of Independence should not be tainted by such a barbaric remnant of colonialism as the death penalty,” the institute said in a release.