Record number of states vote for UN resolution on death penalty moratorium
The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution Thursday calling for an international moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The resolution passed with a record 117 votes in favor, with the United States, along with 37 other nations, opposing the move.
Support for the resolution, which is nonbinding, has increased steadily since it was first adopted in 2007, when 104 states lodged a yes vote; this is the fifth time the General Assembly has voted on the issue. Last time the resolution went before the General Assembly, in 2012, it received support from 111 countries. The final tally today also shows an uptick even from Nov. 21, when the draft resolution received 114 votes in favor in the U.N.s social, humanitarian and cultural committee.
The numbers dont look huge, two or three states every year, said Chiara Sangiorgio, death penalty expert at Amnesty International, but in time it is significant that support [for the resolution] is definitely increasing.
This year, Eritrea, Fiji, Niger and Suriname moved from an abstention to a yes vote; Equatorial Guinea, Kiribati and Sao Tome-Principe also added their support. Bahrain, Myanmar, Tonga and Uganda moved from a no vote to an abstention.
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2014/12/18/record-number-ofstatesvoteforunresolutionondeathpenaltymoratoriu.html