ECPM on all fronts for the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty


30 September 2016

The 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty will be held on 10th October 2016 on the theme of terrorism. To mark the occasion, ECPM will be involved in a number of events, including an inter-NGO day and an event at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

“35 years after abolition, let’s keep saying no!” This is the watchword for the inter-NGO day which will be held on 8th October 2016 at the Paris Trade Union Centre [Bourse du travail] in partnership with Paris Town Hall. As well as ECPM, 9 other organisations will be participating in the event: ACAT France, Amnesty International France, the Association française pour les victimes de terrorisme, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, the French group “Libérons Mumia”, FIACAT, FIDH, Ligue des droits de l’homme (LDH) and Lutte pour la justice/Save. The opening ceremony, planned for 2 p.m., will be followed by a roundtable on “Security, justice and the fight against terrorism: execution is not the solution”. The participants will be Aurélie Plaçais, Director of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Sébastien Novela, a victim of terrorism and a member of the Association française des victims du terrorisme, and Georges Salines, related to a victim of terrorism and a member of the organisation 13/11/15. The theatre company Embellie Turquoise will then present an extract from The Final Day of a Prisoner Sentenced to Death, a play adapted from the novel by Victor Hugo. There will be a meeting with Susan Kigula before the closing ceremony. Previously a prisoner sentenced to death and who has become famous in her home country, Uganda, Susan left prison after studying law in her cell. Once she was free, she organised a petition which has ended automatic application of the death penalty in her country. A musical performance is planned to end the day. Throughout this event, the participating organisations will have stands to set out their commitment and how they take action against the death penalty. It will be a very good opportunity to find out about the multiple facets of abolitionism in France. If you can’t be there in person, follow us live on Facebook. We’ll keep you up-to-date!

Journalism competition and film festival

A few months ago, ECPM, the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie, the French Foreign Affairs Ministry and the French National Bar Council launched an anti-death penalty journalism competition. It sought to encourage journalists of the future to look into the issue of the death penalty in their country. The jury received numerous applications in the form of written articles and radio reports. At the end of the debates, the 4 prize winners will be invited to the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs to receive their prizes on 10th October 2016. They will be distributed in the presence of prestigious guests such as our Honorary President, Robert Badinter, the EU’s Special Representative for Human Rights, Stavros Lambrinidis, the French Foreign Affairs Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, the French Human Rights Ambassador, Patrizianna Sparacino-Thiellay, and our Director, Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan. Susan Kigula and Ndume Olatushani, who both survived death row, will also speak to tell their stories. Finally, ECPM is proud to announce the organisation of a festival of films against the death penalty in Tunisia, in partnership with the Tunisian Coalition Against the Death Penalty. The Moroccan experience had already proved its worth! To find out more about this event, look out for our publications on social networks!