Norway gives high priority to the fight against the death penalty. In our anti-death penalty work, we emphasize the importance of regional organizations promoting abolitionist efforts. As an expression of our commitment to this important issue, Norway will be hosting the 6th World Congress against the death penalty in Oslo in June 2016.
The Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR (OP2) is the first and the only universal instrument aiming at the abolition of the death penalty at the international level.
The OP2, to-date ratified by 81 States, is however reflected in a number of regional instruments supporting the abolition of the death penalty.
The UN Protocol and the regional Protocols are key mechanisms that share the same objective: strengthen and entrench the abolition of the death penalty in the world. If a country is party to one of these but fails to honour its commitments, we do have a solid basis in international law for our arguments against the death penalty.
How can you as representatives for regional human rights mechanisms, as well as States and the international community at large, contribute to increase the number of ratifications of international and regional protocols in order to advance the abolition of the death penalty?
How can we improve implementation of these instruments once ratified?