Within the framework of the United Nations General Assembly, Costa Rica joined Belgium, Benin, France, Mexico, Mongolia, the Republic of Moldova, and Switzerland in presenting a resolution against death penalty. Belgium was selected to present the resolution; the following press release on this matter was issued by the Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Cooperation agency of the Kingdom of Belgium:

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders is pleased that the United Nations Human Rights Council has adopted, today in Geneva, a new resolution submitted by Belgium on the death penalty.

 

 

The initiative, presented jointly with Benin, Costa Rica, France, Mexico, Mongolia, the Republic of Moldova and Switzerland was supported by over sixty countries from the five continents.

 

 

The Belgian resolution focuses on the possible consequences of the use of death penalty on the right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment. It provides for the organization of a High Level Panel discussion on this issue at the March 2017 session of the Human Rights Council. The resolution also requests the High Commissioner for Human Rights to report in 2017 on the application of the death penalty and the right to equality and non-discrimination. In countries that still apply the death penalty it is observed that the death penalty is applied mainly to people belonging to minority groups or to vulnerable people.

 

 

This initiative demonstrates the dynamism of Belgium in the protection and promotion of human rights. It is in this context that our country is also candidate for a seat on the Human Rights Council for the period 2016-2018.

One nation that has already voiced its opposition is Egypt. According to a recent news report published by AllAfrica.com:

Egypt has objected to a UN Human Rights Council resolution on prohibiting the death penalty, Egypt’s permanent delegate to the UN said on Saturday.

 

The UN Human Rights Council adopted the resolution which was submitted by Belgium on Thursday, with 26 votes in favour, 13 against and 8 abstentions.

 

According to state news agency MENA, Amr Ramadan, Egypt’s delegate to the UN in Geneva, expressed Egypt’s deep concern over the use of economic sanctions and conditions to development aid to shape the choices of developing countries over the use of the death penalty.