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International conference agrees on need to abolish death penalty in Tajikistan
DUSHANBE 21 December 2001
DUSHANBE, 21 December 2001 - An International Conference on the Death Penalty, co-organized by the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan on 20 and 21 December, ended today in Dushanbe with an appeal by the participants to the President of Tajikistan, Emomali Rakhmonov, to review legislation on the death penalty and to introduce a moratorium on executions.
The Conference, entitled Death Penalty: Pros and Cons, aimed at discussing the death penalty in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and in particular in Central Asia, as well as prospects for its abolition or the introduction of a moratorium on executions. Participants also studied the experience of CIS countries, which already have abolished this kind of punishment, such as Turkmenistan and Ukraine, as well as the application of the death penalty in Tajikistan.
The Tajik participants at the Conference from the Apparatus of the President, Parliament, the Supreme Court, prosecutor's offices and all relevant ministries agreed that the death penalty in Tajikistan sooner or later should be abolished, but that currently the society might not be ripe for abolition. They also agreed that the process should be gradual and stretch out over a certain period of time, possibly 5 to 10 years.
Representatives of states that have already abolished the death penalty or introduced a moratorium on executions placed particular emphasis in this process on the role of the President and the Constitutional Court as well as the Commission on Pardon under the President.
The Conference included the showing of a film to the participants, which had been prepared one day before the start of the conference. In the film, Tajiks were asked about their opinion on the death penalty.
As a result of an open and frank discussion, the Conference participants adopted an appeal to the Tajik President Rakhmonov, which includes:
The International Conference was organized by the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan together with the Tajik Branch of the Open Society Institute of Soros Foundation and the local non-governmental organization League of Women Lawyers of the Republic of Tajikistan. It was attended by more than 80 representatives of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan and Ukraine as well as diplomatic missions and international organizations present in Dushanbe, local NGOs and the media.
The Conference was preceded by two round tables discussing the death penalty in Tajikistan. They were held in Dushanbe and Khujand in northern Tajikistan August and September 2001, and resulted in the adoption of recommendations for the Tajik Government.
The Conference, entitled Death Penalty: Pros and Cons, aimed at discussing the death penalty in the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) and in particular in Central Asia, as well as prospects for its abolition or the introduction of a moratorium on executions. Participants also studied the experience of CIS countries, which already have abolished this kind of punishment, such as Turkmenistan and Ukraine, as well as the application of the death penalty in Tajikistan.
The Tajik participants at the Conference from the Apparatus of the President, Parliament, the Supreme Court, prosecutor's offices and all relevant ministries agreed that the death penalty in Tajikistan sooner or later should be abolished, but that currently the society might not be ripe for abolition. They also agreed that the process should be gradual and stretch out over a certain period of time, possibly 5 to 10 years.
Representatives of states that have already abolished the death penalty or introduced a moratorium on executions placed particular emphasis in this process on the role of the President and the Constitutional Court as well as the Commission on Pardon under the President.
The Conference included the showing of a film to the participants, which had been prepared one day before the start of the conference. In the film, Tajiks were asked about their opinion on the death penalty.
As a result of an open and frank discussion, the Conference participants adopted an appeal to the Tajik President Rakhmonov, which includes:
- to continue efforts aimed at protection of human rights in Tajikistan;
- to provide for a possibility for reviewing the Tajik legislation with the aim of removing from it provisions stipulating application of the death penalty for women and men over 65 years as well as reducing the number of crimes which call for capital punishment;
- to study the issue of introduction of a moratorium on executions and abolition as a further step of the death penalty in Tajikistan.
The International Conference was organized by the OSCE Mission to Tajikistan together with the Tajik Branch of the Open Society Institute of Soros Foundation and the local non-governmental organization League of Women Lawyers of the Republic of Tajikistan. It was attended by more than 80 representatives of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan, the Russian Federation, Uzbekistan and Ukraine as well as diplomatic missions and international organizations present in Dushanbe, local NGOs and the media.
The Conference was preceded by two round tables discussing the death penalty in Tajikistan. They were held in Dushanbe and Khujand in northern Tajikistan August and September 2001, and resulted in the adoption of recommendations for the Tajik Government.