The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today issued the following statement:
"This year, we mark the 20th World Day Against the Death Penalty. Canada is proud to be part of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Although we are encouraged by the progress made in abolishing capital punishment in certain countries, we continue to oppose the use of the death penalty in all cases everywhere.
"Capital punishment is an affront to human rights and dignity, an ineffective deterrent to crime, and it often compounds injustice by intersecting with other forms of discrimination. No system of justice is free from error, and the use of the death penalty can lead to irreversible injustice when those who are not guilty or who have been falsely accused are executed.
"A world without the death penalty is within our grasp. On this day, Canada joins with the global movement to abolish the death penalty in calling on the minority of countries where capital punishment still exists to ensure due process and fair trials, to pause any planned executions and, to completely end the use of the death penalty."
