5 October 2016Draw me the abolition – 3rd edition

To mark the occasion of the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty which will be held on October 10th 2016, secondary schools and sixth form pupils (12 to 18 years old) from all over the world are invited to take part in the third edition of the “Draw Me the Abolition” competition to create a poster against the death penalty. The 50 best drawings selected by an international panel will be exhibited in participating countries and during the Regional and World Congresses Against the Death...

30 September 2016ECPM is extremely proud to share its report of the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty!

3 months have passed since the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Oslo. Enough time for us to collect the figures, hear back from the participants and draw the first conclusions - and they are proving to be excellent: this latest Congress was a success! Political involvement at the highest level 10 ministers, 6 secretaries of State, more than 50 ambassadors, 14 representatives from international organisations and 24 parliamentarians…The panel of political representatives...

30 September 2016Severe Weather Warning for Abolition

“On behalf of the Government of the Republic, I have the honour to request that the National Assembly abolish the death penalty in France.” It was with these words exactly 35 years ago, on 17th September 1981, that Robert Badinter launched the abolition process in France. 11 days later, the law came before the Senate and it was finally promulgated in the Official Journal on 9th October. The political courage we owe to Robert Badinter and François Mitterand is unanimously and universally...

30 September 2016ECPM on all fronts for the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty

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...

30 September 2016Robert Meeropol: “The death penalty is about coercion, not punishment”

It was 1953. Accused of passing on the secret of the atomic bomb to the USSR, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg where executed in the United States. Their son, Robert Meeropol, has been working for many years to re-establish the truth. While in France he agreed to answer our questions concerning the Rosenberg case and his work against the death penalty.   Who are you Mr Meeropol? My name is Robert Meeropol but I was born Robert Rosenberg. My parents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were executed...

18 June 2016Robert Badinter: “The right to life is the most fundamental human right”

It’s official: Robert Badinter is now ECPM’s Honorary President! To mark this occasion, and just a few days before the start of the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, we took the opportunity to ask him a few questions about the current situation. The former Minister of Justice particularly touched on our duty to be vigilant at a time when “the urge for death” is being revived and provided an illuminating acknowledgement of the complexity of capital punishment across the...

18 June 2016In Oslo: Culture Against the Death Penalty

The 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty also includes a cultural programme which is as diverse as it is substantial. Previews of documentaries and performance exhibitions: art helps spread abolitionist ideas. For this event, Oslo’s House of Literature is hosting two free events organised by ECPM. The first, which will be held on 19th June, is called Cinema Against the Death Penalty. From 2 p.m., three documentaries will be shown one after the other to provide a more...

18 June 2016Editorial – Oslo: The Next Step Towards Abolition

What could be better than knowing we are going to see each other again or, for some of us, meet for the first time to draw up future strategies for universal abolition? For the last 15 years and 6 World Congresses, the abolitionist journey has inevitably included this essential get-together. I know how much you have been waiting and hoping for this event over the last 3 years of expectation and preparation. I know how much the World Congress is a breath of fresh air for many of you who can...

2 May 2016Teng Biao: “There will always be some brave activists who refuse to keep quiet”

“The situation is very worrying”. These were the words used by the Chinese lawyer Teng Biao to open his speech in our offices and to paint a grim picture of the state of human rights in his country: arbitrary arrests, executions of innocent citizens shrouded in secrecy, harassment of human rights activists… Teng Biao is well aware of such abuse. Maybe even too aware. Arrested on numerous occasions, harassed by the authorities to the point where he had to shut down his China Against the...