CANADA SUPPORTS INTERNATIONAL EFFORTS TOWARD ABOLITION OF THE DEATH PENALTY

November 25, 2005: Foreign Affairs Minister Pierre Pettigrew and Minister of Justice Irwin Cotler announced Canada’s accession to a UN treaty that confirms its continued opposition to the death penalty. The treaty, the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, is considered the most significant international legal instrument relating specifically to the death penalty. “Becoming a party to the treaty is part of Canada’s effort to send a clear message on this important human rights issue,” said Minister Pettigrew. “Canada opposes the death penalty and we support the international trend toward its abolition. We urge all states that retain the death penalty to abolish it or to impose a moratorium on its use, and to become parties to the Second Optional Protocol.”
“Canada has been abolitionist in practice for decades—no one has been executed in Canada since 1962,” said Minister Cotler. “By acceding to the UN treaty, we not only formalize our long-standing support for the abolition of the death penalty, but take our place at the forefront of the international struggle toward abolition.”
The Second Optional Protocol requires that states abolish the death penalty and not execute anyone within their jurisdiction. Canada voted in favour of the treaty when it was adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 29, 1989. It entered into force on July 11, 1991. There are now 56 states (including Canada) that are parties to the Second Optional Protocol and another eight which have signed but not ratified. (Sources: Halifaxlive.com 25/11/2005)