Pakistan votes against UN draft resolution calling for death penalty moratorium

ISLAMABAD: A United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) committee adopted a draft resolution demanding a moratorium on death penalty, the APP news agency reported on Sunday, as Pakistan and several other countries voted against it for undermining the principle of state sovereignty.
Pakistan lifted the death penalty moratorium after a militant attack on a school in December 2014 in which more than a hundred children lost their lives.
Initially, it only resumed executions for people involved in terrorism offenses, though it later extended it to all capital cases.
Explaining Pakistan’s decision to vote against the draft resolution upheld by the UNGA’s 193-member Third Committee, a Pakistani delegate, Muhammad Rashid, said his country did not agree with its overall framework.
The Pakistani official maintained there was no international consensus for or against the death penalty, adding it was therefore every country’s right to decide its own law dealing with the issue.
“Death penalty when applied in accordance with due process of law and judicial safeguards, does not infringe on any other human right,” he maintained, adding that the “right to life must be protected for the victims of horrific and most serious crimes as well.”
Earlier, while speaking on behalf of the European Union, Czech Republic said all regional states were pushing for the draft resolution since capital punishment failed to deter criminal behavior.
“Justice systems are run by humans and are therefore exposed to mistakes and aggravated by social stigmas and political pressure, particularly in countries with no independent judiciary,” the EU statement said, adding “the death penalty primarily affects poorer persons and those belonging to marginalized groups.”
The draft resolution would call on countries to progressively restrict use of capital punishment, ensure it was not applied on the basis of discriminatory laws, improve detention conditions and establish a moratorium on executions to ultimately abolish the death penalty.
The resolution was accepted after 126 countries voted in its favor while 37 opposed it. There were also 24 abstentions.

Pakistan votes against UN draft resolution calling for death penalty moratorium