UN General Assembly passes resolution calling for global moratorium on death penalty
The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) has passed a resolution calling for a global moratorium on executions, marking a significant step toward the abolition of the death penalty Amnesty International on Wednesday.
In a vote on December 17, 2024, 130 UN member states—more than two-thirds of the membership—supported the resolution, while 32 voted against and 22 abstained.
The resolution, the tenth of its kind since 2007, was introduced by Argentina and Italy on behalf of an Inter-Regional Task Force and co-sponsored by 70 states. Support for the resolution has steadily grown, with countries such as Antigua and Barbuda, Kenya, Morocco, and Zambia voting in favor for the first time.
Several others, including Gabon, Bangladesh, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, shifted their positions positively compared to the last vote in December 2022.
However, some states changed their stance negatively. Guinea and Uganda abstained after supporting the resolution in 2022, while Mauritania and Papua New Guinea moved to vote against it. Five countries, including Dominica and Syria, were absent from the latest vote.
Amnesty International described the vote as a pivotal moment in the global movement to abolish the death penalty. Chiara Sangiorgio, the organization’s death penalty expert, noted the increasing consensus among states to reject executions as incompatible with human rights.
Sangiorgio acknowledged the moral and political significance of the resolution while expressing concerns over language affirming state sovereignty in criminal penalties, which could undermine progress.
Despite the resolution’s growing support, Amnesty highlighted ongoing concerns about executions in countries such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, urging states retaining the death penalty to take immediate steps toward its abolition.
Since 2007, the number of UN member states classified as abolitionist for all crimes has risen from 90 to 113. The resolution’s backers emphasized the importance of continued dialogue and accountability to ensure global progress toward ending capital punishment.
