Statement: World Day Against the Death Penalty
Statement: World Day Against the Death Penalty
AMMAN CENTER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS STUDIES
STATEMENT. Today, October 10th, is the World Day Against the Death Penalty. Capital punishment violates the inalienable right to life and is incompatible with human dignity. The death penalty does not serve as an effective deterrent to crime and makes any miscarriage of justice irreversible. Rather than providing security, the death penalty does not address the root causes of crime and can even lead to more violence in the context of conflict. Moreover, the death penalty is often politicised and instrumentalised by people with authority.
The right to life is enshrined in both Article 3 of the UN Declaration of Human Rights and Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political rights. This fundamental right prevents the arbitrary deprivation of human life and obligates states to take measures to prevent threats to life. It also forms the basis for all other rights, as it allows humans to live a secure and dignified life. Retaining the death penalty is a clear violation of these principles, and therefore ACHRS continues to advocate for its abolition.
Recently, there has been significant progress and momentum worldwide for the abolition of the death penalty, and today, around 150 countries have either abolished the death penalty or maintain moratoria on executions. However, in 2024 global executions surged to their highest levels since 2015, with at least 1,500 known executions worldwide. This trend is particularly worrying for the Arab world, as Libya, Egypt, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Gaza, Palestine, Lebanon, Jordan, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen and Oman, all retain and actively use the death penalty. Iraq and Saudi Arabia are two of the world’s worst offenders, who, combined with Iran, accounted for over 90% of all publicly announced executions in 2024.
Raising awareness for the abolition of the death penalty is especially important in the Arab world as it is often used and abused by governments as a tool to silence critics. ACHRS has recognised the right to life as one of its core priorities from its establishment. In the past 25 years, ACHRS has continuously researched and monitored developments regarding the death penalty in the Arab region. Additionally, ACHRS has founded the Arab Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the Jordanian Coalition against the Death Penalty, and is a proud member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Since its launch in 2007, the Arab Coalition has issued numerous statements and publications on executions in the Arab world as well as organised and participated in seminars and conferences raising awareness about the death penalty.
On the occasion of the 23rd World Day against the Death Penalty, ACHRS calls for governments and authorities to abolish capital punishment. Additionally, ACHRS uses this day to raise awareness about the misconceptions surrounding the death penalty, as well as the worrying trend concerning the death penalty we are witnessing today. Together with the other abolitionist actors, we sincerely hope one day the Arab world, as well as the entire world, will be free of capital punishment.
Read more about the World Day Against the Death Penalty on the official website.
Amman Center for Human Rights Studies
Amman, October 10, 2025
