EU and 29 European countries welcome Japan Federation of Bar Associations declaration calling for death penalty abolition

EU News 327/2016

7 October 2016

Joint local statement on the occasion of the adoption of a declaration by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations calling for the abolition of the death penalty

The European Union Delegation, the Heads of Mission of EU Member States and the Heads of Mission of Norway, Iceland and Switzerland issue the following statement in Japan:

The adoption of the declaration by the Japan Federation of Bar Associations, which calls for the abolition of the death penalty by 2020, is a timely and welcome development, having in mind the United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, to be held in Japan in that year.

We hope that an open, public debate on this issue in Japan will follow, allowing the people of Japan to weigh for themselves the evidence from a growing number of countries, including EU Member States and like-minded European countries, that an abolition of death penalty can actually strengthen the capacity of judicial systems to effectively deliver justice and, at the same time, prevent irreversible miscarriages of justice. We stand ready to assist such a debate and share our experiences.

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