British Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office signed petition for abolition of death penalty in Belarus

The Foreign Office Minister for Human Rights Jeremy Browne and British Ambassador to Belarus Rosemary Thomas signed the petition against the death penalty in Belarus  on 11 October, following the launch of the UK’s strategy for Global Abolition of the Death Penalty.

'The existence of the death penalty undermines human dignity and has no place in the 21st century. Abolishing the death penalty is a vital step towards the development of full and universal human rights.

There is now clear international momentum towards global abolition. In the past 10 years alone, 22 countries have abolished the death penalty. But global abolition is still many years away, and considerable challenges remain before we can live in a fully abolitionist world. Only 58 countries retain the death penalty. But that is still 58 too many', wrote Mr. Browne in his article dedicated to the death penalty.

He also pointed at the irreversible and irreparable character of the death penalty, referring to 'the case of Derek Bentley, executed in 1953 when he was only 19 years old and eventually cleared 45 years later.

Human Rights Defenders against Death Penalty