World Day 13th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Drug Crimes

 

On 10 October 2015, the 13th World Day Against the Death Penalty is raising awareness around the application of the death penalty for drug-related offences, to reduce its use.

 

Running against the abolitionist worldwide movement, many countries added the death penalty for drug crimes in their legal sustem between 1980 and 2000. This trend is going down today, however, in somes countries, drug crimes are the main cause of death sentences and executions.

 

New tool on how to answer the deterrence argument!


> Organising an event for October 10? Tell us all about it and we will promote it on our Calendar of events! (Please send us: event title, date, time, location, short description and a web link to the event)

> Share the Facebook event!

> Join the social media campaign

> Get in touch with local drug policy reform and harm reduction civil society to meet on World Day

> Sign petitions to release people sentenced to death in Malaysia

> If you are based in Europe, contact your government and ask them to release information about the UNODC programs they are funding (ask for the memo prepared by Reprieve)

> Publish joint statements, articles and contact local media (see the mobilisation kit for advice)

 

The death penalty in practice:

 

• 100 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes

• 6 countries have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes

• 34 countries are abolitionist in practice

• 58 countries and territories are retentionist

• 22 countries carried out executions in 2014

• 33 countries and territories retain the death penalty for drug crimes:

o 13 of the 33 countries have carried out an execution for drug crimes in the past five years

o 12 of the 33 countries retain a mandatory death penalty for certain categories of drug crimes

o 5 of the 33 countries are abolitionist in practice

 

 

Source: Talking Drugs

 

To know more about the death penalty...

 

... all over the world: read the facts & figures

... and drug crimes: read the leaflet, the detailed factsheet and Harm Reduction International's reports

 

Take action to stop crime, not lives:

 

1. Organize a public debate and a movie screening with exonerees, murder victim’s families, experts, to raise awareness on the reality of the death penalty

2. Organize an art exhibition (photo, drawings, posters) or a theatre performance from Dead Man Walking to Victor Hugo

3. Organize a demonstration, a sit-in, a ‘die-in,’ a flash mob

4. Join the events prepared for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide

5. Support urgent appeals and take part in social media action in the lead up to 10 October

6. Write to a prisoner on death row

7. Donate to the World Coalition against the Death Penalty or another group working to end the death penalty.

8. Follow the social media campaign on Facebook and Twitter: #nodeathpenalty

9. Mobilize the media to raise awareness on the issue of the death penalty

10. Participate in “Cities Against the Death Penalty/Cities for Life” on November 30, 2015