“There is nothing in the world as powerful as an idea whose time has come” Victor Hugo

No human rights subject is more political than abolition of the death penalty - to such an extent that some countries do everything possible to disentangle one from the other. But it’s no use: abolition has always been the fruit of the political courage and political choice of a head of State or government on the basis of strong convictions; on the basis of tangible and proven facts. The death penalty is immoral, unjust, socially and ethnically discriminatory, racist, and fallible in the extreme, totally ineffective, dangerous and non-compliant with international law and the founding principles of modern democracies, human rights and the respect for human values, including the very first of them: the right to life and dignity.
Politicians therefore sit at the very heart of the abolitionist struggle. It is often through the courage of a president or a head of government, the self-sacrifice of a justice minister and the will of a parliament that abolition sees the light of day.

A citizen’s right to life or death cannot be left in the hands of leaders with unlimited powers or the sometimes unpredictable fate of a justice system which will never be infallible, and even less so to popular and passionate scapegoating which is just an instinct for revenge and death

The abolitionist cause is an opportunity to consider how power is exercised and how such power can be made dignified and respectful of human beings; to consider the limits of mankind and the institutions which form the basis of humane societies. Anyone and everyone can be fallible, in democracies and even more so within authoritarian powers. A citizen’s right to life or death cannot be left in the hands of leaders with unlimited powers or the sometimes unpredictable fate of a justice system which will never be infallible, and even less so to popular and passionate scapegoating which is just an instinct for revenge and death. But over and beyond States, all those involved in this work (civil society in the first instance, professional and legal networks, cultural and media networks, educational networks, public institutions, local bodies and the private sector) are essential representatives for strengthening the debate and promoting the desired social and political changes. That is why the World Congress exists. ECPM would like to use this event to create a space entirely devoted to abolition. The particularity of the Congress is that it brings together actors from far-off and distant horizons. We bring together those who can make a difference. Nearly 1,500 of these opinion- makers from 121 different countries participated in the Oslo Congress in June 2016 to learn, meet, find new energy, network, exchange views about points of agreement and difference, tackle ideas and opinions. Through sharing, knowledge, dialogue and meeting other people, mankind moves forward and humanity progresses.

What assessment can be made of the World Congress?

As after every Congress, the abolitionist dynamics which emerged from Oslo must be considered. In strategic terms, it is noteworthy that Oslo highlighted two important priorities: Asia and NHRIs.

Asia: the leading retentionist continent
Firstly, by putting the Asian continent centre stage at the preparatory congress in Asia which took place in Kuala Lumpur in June 2015 and which brought together 300 participants from 40 different countries: it highlighted the many assorted situations in Asia, as well as the important problems it shares: the compulsory death penalty, drug trafficking and foreign nationals on death row.

The innovation of the Oslo Congress: the involvement of NHRIs
Secondly, by focusing on abolition of the death penalty as an important subject which is part of the mandate of the National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) for the first time: the Oslo Congress launched this striking approach to the abolitionist battle. The death penalty must become a priority for NHRIs in the same way as the struggle against torture is. There will be a before and after Oslo in terms of the fight against the death penalty within NHRIs.

The call to the networks at the heart of our strategy
The closing ceremony of the Congress highlighted the strength of the networks united against the death penalty, be they parliamentarians, lawyers, city mayors or deans of universities: they recalled that together we can carry aloft the voice of abolition.

Unprecedented political mobilisation

There has never been so much high-level political participation at a Congress, giving the event unprecedented political scope. Two Heads of State, Pope Francis and the President of Mongolia, supported the Congress by sending powerful video messages. Political effervescence around abolition was in full swing before and after the World Congress, the result of an intense lobbying campaign around the event. The Republic of Congo abolished capital punishment in November 2015. Mongolia announced the adoption of a new Criminal Code without the death penalty in September 2016. A few weeks before the Oslo Congress, Nauru officially abolished the death penalty and Guinea did the same just afterwards. In September, Kenya commuted the sentences of 2,747 prisoners sentenced to death (including 92 women) at the instigation of several members of the Board of Pardons present in Oslo. In total, the Congress welcomed more than 250 official representatives from 66 different countries, including a very large number from non-abolitionist countries.
• 2 video messages from the Pope and the President of Mongolia;
• 19 Ministers (foreign affairs ministers, justice ministers, secretaries of State or deputy ministers) from Norway, France, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, CAR, DRC, Cambodia, South Africa, Australia, Lebanon, Palestine, Mongolia, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium and Spain);
• 14 representatives from IGOs, including the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the Secretary General of the Council of Europe (CoE), the EU Special Representative for Human Rights (EUSR), the General Representative of the Organisation internationale de la francophonie (OIF) and the Director General of the OSCE;
• More than 50 parliamentarians from across the world, including the President of the Norwegian Parliament and others from Morocco, Tunisia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Cameroon, DRC, Lebanon, Burkina Faso, Kenya, CAR, Chad, Guinea, Mali, Benin, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Germany, EU, etc.;
• 53 ambassadors and 120 representatives from embassies, diplomatic councils and others;
• 10 senior figures (Nobel Prize winners, former ministers).

Such mobilisation enabled a number of non-abolitionist countries to make progress on the abolition front at their own pace:
• In Oslo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) committed to voting in favour of the moratorium resolution at the UN General Assembly and announced its desire to commute all death sentences. After the Congress, President Joseph Kabila signed Order No. 16/066 of 22 July 2016 on the collective pardoning of all prisoners sentenced to death and the commutation of their sentences into life imprisonment. The DRC then sponsored a side-event on this theme organised by ECPM at the UN Third Committee;
• Via its Justice Minister, Nancy Shukri, Malaysia announced its official commitment to end the compulsory death penalty in her country;
• The Central African Republic (CAR) confirmed its commitment to reform its Criminal code with a view to future abolition;
• Sri Lanka committed itself to moving forward in the abolitionist process and reaffirmed this position via its Foreign Affairs and Justice Ministers.

The essential role of ECPM’s Core Group

This support group was founded at the Madrid Congress because of the need to work in a network to raise awareness politically about abolition of the death penalty with all States through participation at the World Congress. Political participation at the highest level possible is therefore encouraged but the fight against the death penalty must also be integrated into political affairs nationally, regionally and internationally in a sustainable manner. The members of the Core Group are Norway, France, Benin, Rwanda, Australia, Turkey, Mongolia, Switzerland, Spain, Belgium, Monaco, Mexico and Argentina. One obvious result of the work of the Core Group, in association with ECPM, is that all diplomatic services and foreign affairs and justice ministries have heard about the World Congress Against the Death Penalty. ECPM was therefore able to raise awareness directly with more than 300 ambassadors at special presentations with the UN and Unesco, and in Oslo.

The importance of new public and political actors

The special role of parliamentarians
Parliamentarian mobilisation goes without saying today but it is the result of a progressive awareness of the fundamental role members of parliament can play. This evolution can be observed through their ever increasing involvement at the World Congresses. From the first World Congress in Strasbourg in 2001, numerous parliamentarians from Europe and abolitionist countries have been in attendance to reaffirm their commitment against the death penalty. Today, mobilisation also affects numerous parliamentarians from retentionist countries who are bravely keeping alive the necessary abolition debate within their parliaments. More than 50 parliamentarians from across the world were present in Oslo and participated in the side event organised at the Stortinget, the Norwegian Parliament.

Let’s be innovative by calling for Unconventional Weapons for Abolition
For the abolitionist movement, we must move towards an ever more inclusive approach by integrating or reinforcing the involvement of new stakeholders from the civic, economic, political and cultural spheres, in the spirit of the NHRI in Oslo. The tipping point could happen through the emergence of new forms of cooperation. It is up to us to find new allies at the next World Congress, particularly major actors from the cultural, sporting and economic fields. These allies will be unconventional weapons who, coming as they do from off the beaten track, could convince a large number of people to join us.

When will there be a Nobel Prize for abolition?
Once again, numerous Nobel Prize winners supported what they judge to be the primordial struggle for abolition through their presence or through video messages - in particular, the representatives of the Tunisian National Dialogue Quartet (winners in 2015), Desmond Tutu (1984) and Ramos Horta (1996).

Universal abolition is a right, a necessity for justice and a moral duty founded on the principles of democracy, justice, non-violence and respect for human dignity - four elements which are the foundations of the principles of peace and progress for humanity. Finally, like the Mayor of Oslo and the Dean of the University of Oslo, I think that the time has come for the international abolitionist movement to receive the Nobel Peace Prize and for abolition to be recognised as a fundamental right, a moral right and a human right.