GENEVA - UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today called on the authorities in Kyrgyzstan to halt immediately efforts to reintroduce the death penalty, warning that such a retrograde move would be a serious breach of international law.
Kyrgyzstan stopped using capital punishment in 1998 and then permanently prohibited its use in law in 2010, when it ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). That treaty obliges States Parties to take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty.
But following the rape and murder of a girl in late September, the Kyrgyz authorities have proposed that the Constitution be amended to allow the use of the death penalty for the rape of a child and for the rape and murder of a child or adult victim, and that the country withdraw from the Protocol. The proposals are set to be voted on in a referendum, possibly in the coming weeks, and if approved would then be submitted to Parliament.
"The rights enshrined in the Covenant and the Second Optional Protocol, once afforded, then belong permanently to the people in the territory of the State party and cannot be taken away, no matter the justification that is offered," the High Commissioner said. He added that no justice system is perfect, and if the death penalty were reintroduced, it would in time lead to the death of innocent people at the hands of the State.
The UN Human Rights Committee, which oversees implementation of the ICCPR, has made clear that, as the Covenant and the Second Optional Protocol do not contain provisions for their denunciation, abolition of the death penalty is legally irrevocable for States that have accepted those treaties. This also means that States are barred from reintroducing it.
In addition, a State that has ratified the Protocol without reservations is not permitted to carry out the death penalty, even for the most serious crimes.
"Kyrgyzstan has for a number of years been part of the growing - and very welcome - international consensus for the universal abolition of the death penalty. The current draft legislative initiatives also run counter to the spirit of the pledges the country has made, including most recently its backing for a UN Human Rights Council resolution calling on States to ratify the Second Optional Protocol," Türk said.
Some 170 States have abolished or introduced a moratorium on the death penalty in law or in practice.
"The offences cited by the authorities as a reason for reintroducing the death penalty are clearly appalling, and justice must be duly served in respect of them. But there is no evidence that the death penalty plays a significant role in deterring serious crimes," Türk said.
"I urge the Kyrgyz authorities to drop proposals to reintroduce the death penalty, and instead to focus their efforts on ensuring the effective protection of the law and adequate access to justice and redress. The answer must be a well-resourced, victim-centered approach to tackling violence, including sexual violence," the UN Human Rights Chief said.
