Organised byIn partnership with
WORLD CONGRESS
AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
26TH FEBRUARY - 1ST MARCH 2019 - BRUSSELS - BELGIUM
congres.ecpm.org
Sponsored by Co-funded by the European Union
Held under the patronage of
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AGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
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GOALS
Encourage the involvement in the international anti-death penalty movement: private sector, sports, etc.
Put in place a global strategy to move the last retentionist countries towards abolition. Accompany Africa towards abolition: could Africa be the next abolitionist continent? Counter populist movements, make progress in raising awareness about abolition and make
younger generations actors of change. Break the isolation of civil society, which works on a daily basis to abolish the death penalty
death in retentionist or moratorium countries by promoting networking. Raise awareness among the Belgian population and teach young people, from Belgium and
beyond, about abolition of the death penalty.
BENEFICIARIES
Abolitionist civil society, coalitions of actors against the death penalty and their member organisations working for fundamental rights.
The 150 members of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). Professional parliamentary, legal and academic networks against the death penalty. The Member States of the Core Group. Teachers, students and pupils. Citizens. The media.
WHY BRUSSELS?
To mobilise as many people as possible: Brussels’ central position will allow a strong mobilisation (minimum of 1,500 people / day) and will make it possible to optimise networking in terms of quantity and diversity (NGOs, lawyers, parliamentarians, researchers, etc.).
Because of its important political representation: the Belgian capital has numerous political representatives. It is therefore attractive and provides an opportunity for high-level advocacy.
Brussels is the capital of Europe: it therefore possesses all the assets to be positioned as the spearhead of the abolitionist movement.
WHAT IS IT?
Date: 26 February to 1 March 2019Location: Brussels (Belgium)Duration: 4 daysNumber of participants: 1,500 per dayReach of the event: an average of 115 countries represented at previous congresses
The 7th World Congress in Brussels has been preceded by the 3rd Regional Congress Against the Death Penalty which took place on 9 and 10 April 2018 in Abidjan, Côte d’Ivoire.
Organiser: ECPM (Together against the death penalty) www.ecpm.org
Sponsored by
With the support of
In partnership with: The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, composed of more than 150 NGOs, bar associations, local authorities and trade unions, was founded in Rome on 13 May 2002. Its foundation is the result of the commitment made by the signatories of the Final Declaration of the First World Congress against
the Death Penalty, organised by the French association ECPM (Ensemble contre la peine de mort) in June 2001 in Strasbourg. The World Coalition aims to strengthen the international dimension of the fight against the death penalty. Its ultimate objective is to achieve the universal abolition of the death penalty. To this end, it supports the work of its member organisations and coordinates international advocacy for abolition. The Coalition also designated 10 October as the World Day against the Death Penalty. It is a partner of the World Congress against the Death Penalty, which takes place every three years.
With the support of the members of the Core Group: informal network bringing together 12 diplomatic services (Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Benin, France, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Norway, Rwanda, Spain and Switzerland) to mobilise political actors.
Co-funded by the European Union
Held under the patronage of
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THEY CONFIRMED THEIR PRESENCE AT THE 7TH WORLD CONGRESS
HONORARY PRESIDENT OF ECPM• ROBERT BADINTER, former Minister of Justice of the Republic of France who abolished
the death penalty in France in 1981, former President of the Constitutional Council
POLITICAL FIGURES• ANTONIO TAJANI, President of the European Parliament • FEDERICA MOGHERINI, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs
and Security Policy, Vice-president of the European Commission • CECILIA MALSTRÖM, European Union Commissioner for Trade • NEVEN MIMICA, European Union Commissioner for International Cooperation and Development • DIDIER REYNDERS, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign and European Affairs
of the Kingdom of Belgium • MARISE PAYNE, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Commonwealth of Australia • NICOLA RENZI, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of San Marino • CHEICK SAKO, Minister of State, Minister of Justice of the Republic of Guinea • BESSOLÉ RENÉ BAGORO, Minister of Justice, Human Rights and Civic Promotion of Burkina Faso • MOHAMMED AUJJAR, Minister of Justice of the Kingdom of Morocco • ABUBACARR M. TAMBADOU, Attorney General and Minister of Justice of the Republic
of the Gambia • SALIM JREISSATI, Minister of Justice in the caretaker government of Lebanon • FLAVIEN MBATA, Minister of Justice and Human Rights of the Central African Republic • DATUK LIEW VUI KEONG, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of Judicial
Affairs of Malaysia • PASCALE BAERISWYL, State Secretary of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs
of the Swiss Confederation • AUDUN HALVORSEN, State Secretary to Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Norway • MARYANN NJAU-KIMANI, Chair of the Kenya Task Force looking at the parameters
of ensuring that the judgment on the non-mandatory nature of the death penalty is implanted • ARAMIS AYALA, State Attorney for the Ninth Judicial Circuit Court of Florida, USA
UNITED NATIONS SPECIAL RAPPORTEURS• AGNÈS CALLAMARD, Special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions,
United Nations• MICHEL FORST, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, United Nations• ANAÏS MARIN, Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, United Nations• FIONNUALA NÍ AOLÁIN, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights
and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism, United Nations• JAVAID REHMAN, UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Islamic
Republic of Iran, United Nations
OTHER MEMBERS OF INTERGOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATIONS• RÉMY NGOY LUMBU, Commissioner and member of the Working Group on the Death Penalty
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights• MAYA SAHLI-FADEL, Commissioner and member of the Working Group on the Death Penalty
of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights• NAVANETHEM PILLAY, President of the International Commission against the Death Penalty
SAKHAROV AND NOBEL PEACE PRIZES LAUREATES• ENSAF HAIDAR, wife of Saudi blogger RAIF BADAWI, laureate of the 2015 Sakharov Prize• JAMEL M’SALLEM, president of the Tunisian League for Human Rights - Founding organisation
of the National Dialogue Quartet, laureate of the 2015 Nobel Peace Prize• SHIRIN EBADI, judge, laureate of the 2003 Nobel Peace Prize
DRAFT PROGRAMME
Tuesday, 26 February 2019• 10:00 AM - 6:00 PM Side events and panels (Egmont Palace)• Networks meetings (Egmont Palace)• 8:00 PM Theatrical performance of Suzy et Franck (Les Tanneurs theatre)
Wednesday, 27 February 2019• 10:00 AM-1:00 PM Official opening ceremony (European Parliament) • 3:00 PM-5:00 PM Plenary 1 (European Parliament) • 7:00 PM Cocktail networking with the civil society (Egmont Palace)
Thursday, 28 February 2019• 9:30 PM-5:00 PM Debates (Egmont Palace) • 8:00 PM Evening of testimonies (Bozar)
Friday, 1st March 2019• 9:00 AM - 1:30 PM Debates (Egmont Palace) • 3:00 PM Closing ceremony (Bozar)• 5:00 PM The World March for Abolition
ACADEMIC PROGRAMME
Wednesday 27 February 2019
• Plenary session: Business and the death penalty 27 FEBRUARY 2019 – 3:00 PM TO 5:00 PM – EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT HEMICYCLECan business become a new ally in the abolitionist movement? To encourage this collaboration, representatives from the private sector will present the various ways in which they commit to combating capital punishment. This plenary session will also be an opportunity to consider putting abolition on the agenda of the business and human rights movement.
Thursday 28 February 2019
• Plenary session: Abolition strategies: challenges and opportunities in Sub-Saharan Africa 28 FEBRUARY 2019 – 9:00 AM TO 11:00 AM – EGMONT PALACE, EUROPE ROOMA number of countries in Sub-Saharan Africa have abolished the death penalty over the last few years. What challenges must be overcome and what strategies need to be put in place to make Sub-Saharan Africa completely abolitionist?
• Roundtable: Reducing the scope of the death penalty 28 FEBRUARY 2019 – 11:30 AM TO 1:30 PM – EGMONT PALACE, EUROPE ROOMThe death penalty continues to be applied for all kinds of offences despite a clear international legal framework. This session will explore strategic ways to reduce the scope of the death penalty in search of its total abolition.
• Workshop: Death row prisoners and their families: assistance and support28 FEBRUARY 2019 – 11:30 AM TO 1:30 PM – EGMONT PALACE, ARENBERG ROOMIndividuals who have been acquitted and family members of people who have been executed or sentenced to death will share their needs and their projects. This will be followed by a discussion about the kinds of concrete support the abolitionist movement could provide.
• Training: The media and the abolition of the death penalty
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EVENTSLINDY LOU, JURY N°2 by Florent VassaultMONDAY, 25 FEBRUARY - 7:30 PM - CINÉMA GALLERIES In partnership with Ciné ONU - UNRIC / English with French subtitlesOver 20 years ago, Lindy Lou was called up to serve on a jury. Since then, she has lived with unbearable guilt. She then began a journey to compare her experience with that of the 11 other jurors with whom she had sentenced a man to death.The screening will be followed by a debate with Florent Vassault, director.
SUZY & FRANCK - Inti Théâtre – from and starring Didier Poiteaux Director : Olivier LenelTUESDAY, 26 FEBRUARY - 8:00 PM - THÉÂTRE LES TANNEURSFrench with English overtitles Suzy lives in Paris and Frank lives on death row in Texas. In 1996, by chance, they started a correspondence. Little by little, they meet and soon get married. 20 years later, they still love each other but still do not live together. The performance will be followed by a discussion with the artist and Sandrine Ageorges-Skinner.
NETWORKING EVENING WEDNESDAY, 27 FEBRUARY – 7 PM - EGMONT PALACEAn exceptional evening in the prestigious Hall of Mirrors at the Palais d’Egmont to meet and discuss around original artistic and cultural events.
EVENING OF TESTIMONIES THURSDAY, 28 FEBRUARY - 8:00 PM - ROOM M IN BOZARGetting out of political advocacy to find a sensitive connection with the cause of abolition is the first reason for this traditional meeting. Let yourself be carried away by the stories of our guests which give way to emotion.
THE WORLD MARCH FOR ABOLITIONFRIDAY, 1 MARCH - 5:30 PM MEET AT MONT DES ARTSTo conclude the Congress with a moment of militant communion, join us at this illuminated March that will swarm through the streets of Brussels to demand abolition together now!
EXHIBITIONS
THE GREAT WITNESSES OF THE ABOLITION - Christophe Meireis25 FEBRUARY TO 1 MARCH - ESPACE MENUHIN - EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT 17 portraits of those who symbolise the abolition. Former death row inmates, families, politicians, they discover each other. They whisper to you from the depths of their beings these words that inhabit them. The exhibition is accompanied by the presentation of the LXB Chair, by artist Wang Keping, in honour of Nobel Peace Prize winner Liu Xiao Bo.
COMICS FOR ABOLITION 15 FEBRUARY TO 1 MARCH, 2019 - GATES OF BRUSSELS PARK, IN FRONT OF THE ROYAL PALACEA general public exhibition, which combines factual information and comic strips to highlight the views artists of the 9th Art from all over the world on the issue of the death penalty.
WHO DESERVES TO DIE ? 25 FEBRUARY TO 1 MARCH, 2019 – EGMONT PALACE / AS OF 28 FEBRUARY – BOZAR This photo exhibition of Spanish photojournalist Sofía Moro is an in-depth, ongoing research project developed over the past ten years on the application of the death penalty in the world today.
28 FEBRUARY 2019 – 11:30 AM TO 1:30 PM – EGMONT PALACE, BLUE ROOM
• Roundtable: How to prevent a resurgence of the death penalty? 28 FEBRUARY 2019 – 3:00 PM TO 5:00 PM – EGMONT PALACE, EUROPE ROOMWhat drives countries to reintroduce the death penalty and resume sentences or executions? Panellists will identify potential actions which could prevent such a resurgence.
• Workshop: Abolition generation: young people join the movement! 28 FEBRUARY 2019 – 3:00 PM TO 5:00 PM – EGMONT PALACE, ARENBERG ROOMThis workshop aims to give the floor to young people, encouraging them to take a stand against the death penalty and define how they would contribute to the abolitionist movement.
• Training: Keys for preparing a funding proposal 28 FEBRUARY 2019 – 3:00 PM TO 5:00 PM – EGMONT PALACE, ORANGE ROOMThrough exercises, participants will learn to identify donors and obtain keys to prepare funding applications.
Friday 1 March 2019
• Roundtable: The discriminatory application of the death penalty towards women1 MARCH 2019 – 9:00 AM TO 11:00 AM – EGMONT PALACE, EUROPE ROOMThis roundtable will attempt to raise awarness on the discriminatory nature of the death penalty in the case of women and to propose concrete ways to integrate this issue into the advocacy of abolitionists.
• Workshop: New technologies and the death penalty1 MARCH 2019 – 9:00 AM TO 11:00 AM – EGMONT PALACE, ARENBERG ROOMThis session will provide an overview of the possibilities offered by new technologies, whether to convey a message or support the work of anti-death penalty organisations.
• Training: UN advocacy: using the UPR and Treaty Bodies to advocate for abolition 1 MARCH 2019 – 9:00 AM TO 11:00 AM – EGMONT PALACE, ORANGE ROOMHow do the UN Universal Periodic Review and Treaty Bodies operate? How can they be used effectively to advocate for abolition?
• Roundtable: Foreigners sentenced to death in the fight against terrorism1 MARCH 2019 – 11:30 AM TO 1:30 PM – EGMONT PALACE, EUROPE ROOMThere is little information about foreigners sentenced to death on terrorism charges. In this context, how to engage countries on the situation of their nationals facing a death sentence orexecution overseas?
• Workshop: New strategies for abolition1 MARCH 2019 – 11:30 AM TO 1:30 PM – EGMONT PALACE, ARENBERG ROOMThis interactive workshop will propose new strategies, taking into account the new trends and risks affecting the abolitionist movement.
• Training: Advocating for abolition with community and religious leaders 1 MARCH 2019 – 11:30 AM TO 1:30 PM – EGMONT PALACE, ORANGE ROOMWhat arguments should be used to mobilise community and religious leaders in support of abolition? How should this dialogue be used when advocating for abolition?
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ECPM PRESENTATION
ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty) is an organisation working for a particular cause: universal abolition of the death penalty under all circumstances.
ADVOCACY WITH THE HIGHEST AUTHORITIESECPM is the first NGO devoted to the struggle against the death penalty to have obtained ECOSOC status which guarantees it a presence and the possibility of advocating at the very heart of the UN system. ECPM created the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in 2002 which today has more than 150 members – NGOs, bar associations, local bodies, unions – from across the world.ECPM leads advocacy and public mobilisation campaigns with political decision-makers (European Union, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, governments, etc.)
UNITING ABOLITIONISTS FROM ACROSS THE WORLDECPM is the founder and organiser of the World Congresses Against the Death Penalty. These events bring together more than 1,300 people representing the world abolitionist movement. Ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats, activists, civil society organisations, researchers and journalists come together every three years to strengthen their ties and draw up strategies for the future.
EDUCATION AND AWARENESS OF ABOLITIONECPM works in schools to encourage young people to support the issue through drawing competitions, introductions to journalism and free class visits – with the participation of specialists, individuals previously sentenced to death or the families of prisoners sentenced to death. More than 10,000 middle and high school pupils have been involved since October 2009. ECPM raises awareness among the public concerning minorities and vulnerable groups by participating in the Gay Pride, the Fête de la Humanité, Cities for Life, the World Day Against the Death Penalty, World Human Rights Day, etc.
STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITIES OF LOCAL ACTORS AND TAKING ACTION WITH THEMECPM fights against the isolation of activists wherever the death penalty remains by supporting the formation of national and regional coalitions against the death penalty (Morocco, Tunisia, Central Africa, Asia, etc.), as well as the creation of networks of abolitionist parliamentarians and lawyers. ECPM encourages efficiency among its local partners by organising training sessions and advocating at all political levels for their work to be supported.
PROXIMITY TO PRISONERS SENTENCED TO DEATHECPM carries out and publishes judicial investigations into death row (in Morocco, Tunisia and the United States). Our publication “Investigation into Death Row in the DRC” received the French Republic’s top Human Rights Prize.ECPM supports the victims of the death penalty, prisoners and their families such as Serge Atlaoui and Hank Skinner. ECPM supports correspondence with prisoners sentenced to death.
AMONG OUR WITNESSES
ARTHUR JUDAH ANGEL, Ex-convicted to death, NigeriaArthur Judah Angel, who was sentenced to death in Nigeria for murder in 1986 at the age of 21, has always denied that he had committed the crimes for which he was accused. He had to face a cancelled execution date at the last minute and witnessed 58 executions organised on the same day. He was finally released in 2000 after 16 years in prison, almost 10 of which were on death row.
SABINE ATLAOUI, Spouse of the death row prisoner SERGE ATLAOUI - FranceSabine Atlaoui is the wife of Serge Atlaoui. This French citizen was arrested in Indonesia in 2005 in an acrylic factory that turned out to be a cover in an ecstasy production case. Sentenced to the death penalty on appeal in 2007, despite his protests of innocence, Serge is still on Indonesian death row. Sabine is fighting to save her husband and is involved in the universal struggle for the abolition of the death penalty.
ANTOINETTE CHAHINE, Ex-convicted to death, member of the French National Order of Merit – LebanonAntoinette was arrested in 1994 and sentenced to death in 1997 for the murder of a priest. The real reason for her imprisonment proved to be the fact that her brother belonged to a Christian militia which was banned in Lebanon. Antoinette was tortured in prison. She was finally released in 1999 following international campaigns.
GENEVIÈVE DONADINI, Sitting juror at the Ranucci trial - FranceIn 1976 the trial of Christian Ranucci for the murder of a little girl was held in the court of Aix-en-Provence in France. At the end of the trial, the accused was sentenced to death and then guillotined on July 28th of the same year. Among the 12 jurors was Geneviève Donadini, a young mother at the time of the events. 40 years later, Mrs. Donadini wrote «Le procès Ranucci. Témoignage d’un juré d’assise» (The Ranucci trial. Testimony of a sitting juror), published by Harmattan.
AHMED HAOU, Ex-convicted to death - MorroccoA former death row prisoner in Morocco, he was sentenced on the 30th of July, 1984 for an offence against national security and after having protested against Hassan’s regime at a peaceful demonstration. Due to the pressure exerted by international organisations, he was finally pardoned in 1998.
NDUME OLATUSHANI, Ex-convicted to death, United StatesNdume spent 28 years in prison, including 20 on death row in the United States, for a crime he did not commit. Saved by the discovery of drawing and painting, supported throughout his detention by his relatives and abolitionist organisations, he continues today to be stronlgy devoted alongside young people against the death penalty.
PETE OUKO, Ex-convicted to death, KenyaSentenced to death for murder in 2001 at the age of 31, Pete Ouko, then father of two young children, has always claimed his innocence. Detained for nearly 18 years in a cell with 13 other prisoners, he now testifies of the difficulty of surviving while waiting for his execution. He was pardoned and released on the 26th of October 2007 and is now a graduate in law at the University of London. He is involved in defending the rights of prisoners in Africa through the Youth Safety Awareness Initiative, of which he is the founder and director.
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THE DEATH PENALTY ACROSS THE WORLD
144 countries and territories have abolished the death penalty either in law or in practice in 2018. Abolition is part of a universal trend. And yet, some regions still strongly resist the advance of abolitionist thinking and continue to apply the death penalty in a significant way. This is the case in Asia, the Arab world and the United States, the only democracy among the ten leading countries in terms of the number of annual executions. The world number of executions in 2017 is estimated at 993. This figure is well below the reality, given that China has made data on executions, estimated to be several thousands per year, a State secret (source: Amnesty International, 2017). The African continent is moving towards abolition: 4/5 of the 55 African countries are abolitionist in law or under moratorium.
The 31 countries in the world with a moratorium represent important levers to be activated, as their move into the abolitionist camp could create a snowball effect.
This progress also hides other realities: that of the citizens of the 54 countries which still use the death penalty and which represent approximately 60% of the world population living under the yoke of a justice system which kills; that of the more than 20,000 prisoners sentenced to death who await execution in conditions of detention which are often well below what is required by international standards.
In countries which have abolished the death penalty in law, pro-death penalty movements regularly challenge abolition. The risk of a resumption of executions in countries which have not executed anyone for several years is ever present.
Furthermore, in most of the countries where support for the death penalty is still high, capital punishment is passed (after unfair trials, often based on confessions obtained under torture) in a discriminatory manner for non-violent crimes which do not meet the criteria of “the most serious crimes” such as financial crimes, witchcraft, apostasy, drug-related offences and sexual relations between consenting adults – against juveniles at the time of the events.
Numerous State actors, as well as the European Union, agree on the idea that the death penalty constitutes a manifest violation of the right to life as set down in Article 3 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In that respect, they share the conviction that the fight for its abolition is a struggle for the most fundamental human right and respect for human dignity, particularly that of the absolute prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; its dissuasive effect has never been proven.
WORLD CONGRESSAGAINST THE DEATH PENALTY
Contacts:Congress Coordinator
Ramla Liatouji: [email protected]. : +33 6 35 20 06 69
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Tel.: +33 1 80 87 70 53
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Tel.: +33 6 87 04 79 83
Press agent : Maria Laura Franciosi / Press Club Brussels Europe: [email protected]
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