05 August 2011 :

The presentation of the report was attended by Taieb Baccouche, Education minister and Tunisian transitional Government spokesperson. The 2011 Hands Off Cain Report confirms the positive evolution towards the abolition of the death penalty. In particular, in the Arab world, the motion to liberation from decades-old regimes has already provided positive steps that appear to offer a solution to the continued adherence to systems and practices of the past.
The presence of Minister Baccouche, President of the Arab Institute for Human Rights, is particularly significant. The interim united national government ratified the Rome Statute on the establishment of the International Criminal Court and also announced the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, regarding the abolition of the death penalty. "There must be justice without violence, because the right to life is the key to all other rights," Baccouche said in an interview. "In this sense, the development of democracy in Arab countries is needed." On the ratification of the Rome Statute on the establishment of the International Criminal Court, which excludes the death penalty, the Minister said: "It is a truly important step for my country, especially after many years of torture and oppression by the regime. Now we must enact reforms that put these conventions into practice." Baccouche said that of the 42 countries that still employ capital punishment, 35 are dictatorships. "Tunisia in this sense is a good example", however 'support is needed as more and more countries abolish the death penalty.