Amnesty International Death Penalty Report

That the Parliament notes the publication of the Amnesty International global report, Death Sentences and Executions 2019; understands that it finds that, compared with 2018, the number of confirmed executions decreased in 2019 by 5% to the lowest number recorded in at least 10 years; notes that Iran, Saudi Arabia and Iraq accounted for 81% of confirmed global executions in 2019 and that the 184 executions in Saudi Arabia were the highest ever recorded by Amnesty International in one year in the country; understands that China has yet to publish any figures on the death penalty, but that available information indicates that each year thousands of people are executed and sentenced to death in that country, which Amnesty International believes to be the world’s lead executioner; notes that the report records significant reductions in the number of confirmed executions in countries that are traditionally strong adherents of the death penalty, including Egypt, Japan and Singapore, and that, for the second consecutive year, Iran, the world’s second biggest executing country, executed fewer people than before, following amendments in 2017 to its anti-narcotics law; believes the death penalty to be the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment in clear violation of international human rights law and standards, and stands in opposition to it in all cases, without exception.