From: amnesty@amnesty.oil.ca
Date: Wed, 23 Feb 2000 07:17:17 -0500
Message-Id: <200002231217.HAA24335@amnesty.oil.ca>
To: amnesty-L@oil.ca
Subject: UKRAINE: One step closer to Europe -Ukraine abolishes the death penalty
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* News Release Issued by the International Secretariat of Amnesty
International *
News Service 035/00
AI INDEX: EUR 50/02/00
22 February 2000

One step closer to Europe -Ukraine abolishes the death penalty

Amnesty International today welcomed the decision of an overwhelming
majority of members of the Ukrainian parliament to abolish the death
penalty.

"Ukraine has taken the monumental step of joining the vast majority of
its European neighbours who have already removed this cruel, inhuman and
degrading punishment from their statute books. This signals an important
new commitment to protect fundamental human rights in the country,"
Amnesty International said today.

"The speed with which the Ukrainian parliament has removed the death
penalty from its penal code has been both unexpected and very
impressive," the organization said.

The Ukrainian parliament also took the decision to ratify Protocol No. 6
to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and
Fundamental Freedoms (European Convention), which provides for the
abolition of the death penalty except in time of war or the imminent
threat of war.

Although Ukraine introduced a de facto moratorium on executions in March
1997 it has continued to pass the death sentence. Ratification of
Protocol No.6 effectively means that existing death sentences will be
commuted into life sentences and no one again should suffer judicial
execution.

The historic decision of the Ukrainian parliament to abolish the death
penalty follows a ruling made by the Ukrainian Constitutional Court on
30 December last year that the death penalty was unconstitutional, both
violating the principle of the right to life, which is enshrined in the
country’s constitution, and contravening the constitutional provision
that no one should be subjected to torture or to cruel or inhuman
treatment or punishment.

Background information
Ukraine made the commitment to abolish the death penalty in November
1995 upon entry to the Council of Europe. The government of Ukraine also
committed itself to sign and ratify Protocol No.6 to the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
(European Convention) relating to the abolition of the death penalty,
within three years of its accession to the Council of Europe. Neither of
these commitments were fulfilled by the Council of Europe’s deadline of
November 1998 or its extended deadline of June 1999. In June 1999 the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe decided to extend this
deadline until its next session in January 2000. By this date Ukraine
should have made substantial progress towards reforms aimed at the
protection of human rights.

ENDS.../
Amnesty International, International Secretariat, 1 Easton Street,
WC1X 8DJ, London, United Kingdom
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