The Statement of the UNGA Resolution for a Monitorium in Death Penalty

On 17 December 2024, the plenary session of the United Nations General Assembly voted in favour of a moratorium on the death penalty. The vote was a historic one , as more than two-thirds of UN member states decided to support the UN’s proposal for a moratorium on executions, with a view to subsequently abolishing the death penalty.

This vote illustrates the determination of UN member states to move progressively towards rejecting the use of the death penalty as a legal punishment under international human rights law. The number of states voting in favour of introducing a moratorium with a view to abolishing the death penalty has risen from 104 in 2007 to 130 in 2024. This resolution is of significant importance in ensuring that the use of the death penalty continues, and will continue to be scrutinised, for as long as it has not completely disappeared.

For the first time, the Maghreb countries , Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia all voted in favour of this resolution. Indeed, Morocco voted for the first time in favour of the call for a moratorium, demonstrating the progress made in constructive work towards abolition at national level. In addition, Jordan and Lebanon confirmed their support for the resolution for the third time in succession. However, there was a setback for Mauritania, which voted against the resolution in December 2024, even though it had abstained last year.

This year, among the Arab countries, only the United Arab Emirates decided to remain neutral on the moratorium issue. Their vote remains unchanged from the 9th resolution in favour of a moratorium on the death penalty. Despite the progress made by some countries in the region in the fight against the abolition of the death penalty, Egypt, Bahrain, Iran, Iraq, Libya, Mauritania, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen voted against this 10th resolution. These twelve countries have not changed their vote since the last resolution.

Nevertheless, this is the first time that opponents of the resolution have not submitted a note verbale dissociating the resolution from the previous resolution to the Secretary General of the United Nations. There is thus a growing desire to move towards the abolition of the death penalty in the majority of countries in the world. That leaves Syria, which was absent from the vote, which took place in mid-December, barely a week after the fall of the Assad regime.

The Amman Center for Human Rights Studies, the Arab Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and the Jordanian Coalition Against the Death Penalty appreciate the votes of the countries in the region in favour of the introduction of a moratorium, and encourage the countries in the region that voted against to rethink their decision for the next resolution, in order to make further progress.

Sources:
UN General Assembly. Resolutions. 17 December 2024. https://documents.un.org/doc/undoc/gen/n24/412/57/pdf/n2441257.pdf

Amnesty International. “World. UN Member States make progress towards rejecting the death penalty as a lawful punishment under international law”. Amnesty International, December 2024. https://www.amnesty.org/fr/latest/news/2024/12/global-un-member-states-move-closer-to-rejecting-death-penalty-as-lawful-punishment-under-international-law/#:~:text=Lors%20d a%20historic%20vote,united%20on%2017%20d%C3%December%202024 .

World Coalition. “Two-thirds of UN vote in favour of 10th resolution for moratorium on death penalty”. World Coalition, December 2024. https://worldcoalition.org/fr/2024/12/20/les-deux-tiers-des-nations-unies-votent-en-faveur-de-la-10e-resolution-pour-un-moratoire-sur-la-peine-de-mort/