Today is World Day against the Death Penalty. With more than 50 years of positive experience of abolition in the UK, we believe that the death penalty neither deters, nor keeps people safer. It is error-prone, and its use in the modern world if often arbitrary and in breach of international standards. It also risks fuelling hatred, revenge, extremism and terrorism.
In November, the UN General Assembly will vote on a resolution calling on states that maintain the death penalty to establish a moratorium on its use with a view to abolition. I encourage all countries to recognise and seize this opportunity to commit to a more humane, fair and effective judicial system. One which sets the moral authority of the state on a higher level than the individual.