UN criticizes \u2018alarming\u2019 global increase in executions
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\nThe UN Human Rights Office sounded alarm on Monday of a \u201csharp hike\u201d in the number of executions globally in 2025.<\/p>\n
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk expressed the office\u2019s key concerns, stating:<\/p>\n
My Office monitored an alarming increase in the use of the capital punishment in 2025, especially for offences not meeting the \u2018most serious crimes\u2018 threshold required under international law, the continued execution of people convicted of crimes committed as children, as well as persistent secrecy around executions.<\/p>\n
The increase primarily came from executions for drug-related offenses occurring in a small number of retentionist states. These are countries that continue to use capital punishment, as opposed to abolitionist states. which do not use or support the death penalty.<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk stressed that the death penalty does not function as an effective crime prevention tool, and can kill innocent people. He further highlighted the serious implications for marginalized groups: \u201cIn practice, the death penalty is also often applied arbitrarily and discriminatorily, in violation of fundamental principles of equality before the law.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report specifically addressed the conduct of several countries, including Iran. The UN estimated that at least 1,500 individuals were executed in Iran in 2025\u2014at least 47 percent for drug offenses. T\u00fcrk said this figure suggests a \u201csystemic use of capital punishment as a tool of State intimidation.\u201d Iran Human Rights Monitor reported similar concerns in December, stating that \u201cpolitical death sentences\u201d have especially targeted ethnic minorities, including Kurds and the Baloch.<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia also had a high figure, with at least 356 executions\u201478 percent drug-related offenses. At least two of those executed were killed for offenses committed as minors, which raises concerns over the rights of children under international law.<\/p>\n
In Israel, recent proposals call for mandatory death penalties solely for Palestinians under certain circumstances. T\u00fcrk commented on this question separately in early January, focusing on the discriminatory nature of these proposals and violations of international humanitarian law.<\/p>\n
Forty-seven executions occurred in the US in 2025\u2014the highest number in 16 years. Experts have continued to express concerns about \u201ctorture or cruel punishment\u201d implications of the expanding use of gas asphyxiation, introduced by some states in 2024.<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk also discussed Afghanistan, Somalia, Singapore, China, the Democratic People\u2019s Republic of Korea, and Belarus.<\/p>\n
The report did note some \u201cencouraging steps\u201d taken last year. For example, the Constitutional Court in Kyrgyzstan upheld a prohibition on the death penalty, ruling that an attempt to reintroduce it was unconstitutional. Temur Shakirow, director of the International Court of Justice Europe and Central Asia Programme, praised the measure, saying:<\/p>\n
Justice systems in all countries are vulnerable to error or abuse, and the death penalty makes any such failure irreversible. Maintaining the abolition of capital punishment therefore remains essential to the effective protection of the right to life.<\/p>\n
T\u00fcrk calls on all retentionist states to cease executions, downgrade all current death sentences, and begin to take steps towards abolition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UN criticizes \u2018alarming\u2019 global increase in executions —————————– The UN Human Rights Office sounded alarm on Monday of a \u201csharp hike\u201d in the number of executions globally in 2025. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker T\u00fcrk expressed the office\u2019s key concerns, stating: My Office monitored an alarming increase in the use of the capital …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":139492,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_108372464460192_245495985553329":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[13837],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-139493","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-human-rights"],"yoast_head":"\n