Ministers’ Deputies

Notes on the Agenda

CM/Notes/953/4.2     5 January 2006[1]

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953 Meeting, 18 January 2006
4 Human Rights

4.2 Abolition of the death penalty in all member states of the Council of Europe

Reference documents
CM/Del/Dec(2001)769/4.4

CM/Del/Dec(2005)924/4.2

CM/Del/Dec(2005)939/1.1

CM/Del/Dec(2005)941/4.1

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Action To hold, in accordance with their decision at their 769th meeting (17 October 2001, item 4.4), their regular exchange of views on the abolition of the death penalty in member states of the Council of Europe.  In this context they might also consider the situation with regard to signatures and ratifications of Protocols Nos 6 and 13. They are also invited to consider the appended draft decisions with a view to their adoption.

1.         It is recalled that the Deputies, in accordance with their decisions on the follow-up to the European Ministerial Conference on Human Rights (Rome, 3-4 November 2000), held an exchange of views on 17 October 2001 on the abolition of the death penalty in all member states and decided to resume consideration of this item thereafter at regular intervals until Europe has become a de jure death penalty-free zone.

2.         The last such exchange of views took place at the 941st meeting (13 October 2005) during which the Deputies urged the Russian Federation, as the only member state which has not yet abolished the death penalty, to take without delay all the necessary steps to transform the existing moratorium on executions into de jure abolition of the death penalty and to ratify Protocol No. 6.

3.         The Deputies agreed to resume consideration of this issue at one of their forthcoming meetings in the light of information received from the Russian Federation, but no later than January 2006.

4.         The Deputies also encouraged states which have not yet signed or ratified Protocol No. 13 to the Convention to do so rapidly.

5.         The Russian Federation, whilst having respected a moratorium on the death penalty in force since August 1996, remains the only member state which has still not formally abolished the death penalty, nor has it ratified Protocol No. 6. The Secretariat, to date, has received no information from the Russian Federation on steps taken towards abolition of the death penalty since the last exchange of views. 

6.         To date, Protocol No. 13, which entered into force on 1 July 2003,  has been ratified by 33 member states and signed by a further 10 states.  Three member states have not yet signed the Protocol (Armenia, Azerbaijan and the Russian Federation, see the appended chart of signatures and ratifications).

Financing assured: YES

DRAFT DECISIONS

953rd meeting – 18 January 2006

Item 4.2

Abolition of the death penalty in all member states of the Council of Europe

(CM/Del/Dec(2001)769/4.4, CM/Del/Dec(2005)924/4.2, CM/Del/Dec(2005)939/1.1, CM/Del/Dec(2005)941/4.1)

Decisions

The Deputies

1.         strongly urged the Russian Federation, as the only member state which has not yet abolished the death penalty, to take without delay all the necessary steps to transform the existing moratorium on executions into de jure abolition of the death penalty and to ratify Protocol No. 6;

2.         noted that the Russian Federation had still not informed them of any measures taken to this effect since the last exchange of views in October 2005 and invited the Russian Federation to provide such information by mid-April 2006;

3.         agreed to resume consideration of this issue at one of their forthcoming meetings in the light of information received from the Russian Federation, but no later than April 2006; 

4.         welcomed Monaco’s ratification of Protocol No. 13 since their last exchange of views and encouraged those states which have not yet signed or ratified the Protocol to do so rapidly.

Appendix

Opening for signature	Entry into force
Place: Vilnius Date : 3/5/2002	Conditions: 10 Ratifications. Date : 1/7/2003

Status as of: 4/1/2006

Member States of the Council of Europe

States	Signature	Ratification	Entry into force	Notes	R.	D.	A.	T.	C.	O.
Albania	26/5/2003
Andorra	3/5/2002	26/3/2003	1/7/2003
Armenia
Austria	3/5/2002	12/1/2004	1/5/2004
Azerbaijan
Belgium	3/5/2002	23/6/2003	1/10/2003
Bosnia and Herzegovina	3/5/2002	29/7/2003	1/11/2003
Bulgaria	21/11/2002	13/2/2003	1/7/2003
Croatia	3/7/2002	3/2/2003	1/7/2003
Cyprus	3/5/2002	12/3/2003	1/7/2003
Czech Republic	3/5/2002	2/7/2004	1/11/2004
Denmark	3/5/2002	28/11/2002	1/7/2003					X
Estonia	3/5/2002	25/2/2004	1/6/2004
Finland	3/5/2002	29/11/2004	1/3/2005
France	3/5/2002
Georgia	3/5/2002	22/5/2003	1/9/2003			X
Germany	3/5/2002	11/10/2004	1/2/2005
Greece	3/5/2002	1/2/2005	1/6/2005
Hungary	3/5/2002	16/7/2003	1/11/2003
Iceland	3/5/2002	10/11/2004	1/3/2005
Ireland	3/5/2002	3/5/2002	1/7/2003
Italy	3/5/2002
Latvia	3/5/2002
Liechtenstein	3/5/2002	5/12/2002	1/7/2003
Lithuania	3/5/2002	29/1/2004	1/5/2004
Luxembourg	3/5/2002
Malta	3/5/2002	3/5/2002	1/7/2003
Moldova	3/5/2002
Monaco	5/10/2004	30/11/2005	1/3/2006
Netherlands	3/5/2002
Norway	3/5/2002	16/8/2005	1/12/2005
Poland	3/5/2002
Portugal	3/5/2002	3/10/2003	1/2/2004
Romania	3/5/2002	7/4/2003	1/8/2003
Russia
San Marino	3/5/2002	25/4/2003	1/8/2003
Serbia and Montenegro	3/4/2003	3/3/2004	1/7/2004
Slovakia	24/7/2002	18/8/2005	1/12/2005
Slovenia	3/5/2002	4/12/2003	1/4/2004
Spain	3/5/2002 r
Sweden	3/5/2002	22/4/2003	1/8/2003
Switzerland	3/5/2002	3/5/2002	1/7/2003
the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia	3/5/2002	13/7/2004	1/11/2004
Turkey	9/1/2004
Ukraine	3/5/2002	11/3/2003	1/7/2003
United Kingdom	3/5/2002	10/10/2003	1/2/2004				X

Notes:a: Accession - s: Signature without reservation as to ratification - su: Succession - r: Signature "ad referendum".
R.: Reservations - D.: Declarations - A.: Authorities - T.: Territorial Application - C.: Communication - O.: Objection.

Source : Treaty Office on http://conventions.coe.int