side EVENTS

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, 140 members strong, held an extraordinary General Assembly in order to encourage meetings and conversation between members and better communication in a network around the Coalition’s work and that of steering committee meetings.
The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (more than 30 members of ADPAN present), FIACAT (more than 20 members of ACAT present), and the Central African Coalition Against the Death Penalty also held their steering committee meetings..

Organised by Oslo Pride in partnership with ECPM and attended by Arnaud Gauthier-Fawas, Head of International Relations at Inter LGBT France, Sabine Jansen, COC Netherlands – a Dutch LGBTIQ organisation which initiated the Fleeing Homophobia project –, and Marianne Rossi, Head of the Educating About Abolition project at ECPM.

Attended by academics known for their work on the death penalty. Organised by the Universities Against the Death Penalty and Academics Against the Death Penalty networks at the Norwegian Centre for Human Rights (NCHR), University of Oslo and Academics Against the Death Penalty (Repecap), funded by the Royal Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. This Side Event was opened by Knut Storberget, Norwegian Minister of Justice during the terrorist attacks in Oslo and Utoya, in the presence of John Bessler (Baltimore Law School), Borge Bakken (China specialist at NCHR), Giao Vu Cong (Institute of Public Policy and Law, Vietnam National University Hanoi), Parvais Jabbar (DPP), Luis Arroyo Zapatero (Repecap) and Bharat Malkani (Birmingham Law School).

Organised by the Italian Embassy and attended by Giorgio Novello, the Italian Ambassador to Norway and Iceland, Antonio Stango, Coordinator of the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, Mads Andenases, Professor of International Law at the University of Oslo and UN Special Rapporteur on arbitrary detention, and Ludovica Chiussi, a doctoral candidate at the University of Oslo.
The seminar addressed whether there is an emerging jus cogens prohibition of the death penalty according to international law. While only the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and the ECHR provide for a ban on executions and abolition of the death penalty within the jurisdiction of State parties, Article 6 of the ICCPR itself not only establishes several limitations, but with its wording indicates that abolition may be an ultimate goal for the international community.

Hosted by the Parliament of Norway in cooperation with Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM) and Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA), this event was an opportunity for parlementarians from around the world to share their experiences in favour of abolition and create bridges with European abolitionist parliamentarians, particularly from Norway, France, Great Britain and Switzerland.

Organisers : FIDH, Norwegian Helsinki Committee, Viasna Human Rights Center
Belarus is the only European country where the death penalty is still practiced. However, there are some signs that give reason to hope that it may at last be willing to make a change and, if not abolish it, at least impose a moratorium on the death penalty. This conference featured several prominent actors in the campaign against the death penalty in Belarus, alongside an exhibition of items, video materials and the presentation of a book.
Speakers
• Valentin Stefanovitch, Vice President of Viasna Human Rights Center
• Andrei Paluda, Head of the Human Rights Defenders against Death Penalty campaign, Belarus and in charge of Viasna’s death penalty project
• Ljubov Kovalova, mother of Vlad Kovalov, a young man executed in Belarus
Closing remarks by
• Bjørn Engesland, Secretary General of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee

Organisers : The Rights Practice
Chinese and international lawyers raised the issue of drug crime and the death penalty, and explored strategies to end capital punishment for these offences. They lent towards fair trial issues and the impact on the poor and foreigners.

Organisers : ECPM, Impact Iran, Iran Human Rights, KMMK-G
Following the election of Hassan Rouhani and the nuclear agreement between Iran and the 5+1 group, Iran has emerged from isolation, many foreign firms (especially Europeans) are preparing to do business in the country and Iran is considered an ally in the fight against ISIS. But what about the death penalty? The focus of this event concentrated on Iran after the nuclear deal and the role of the UN and the international community in the fight against the death penalty.
Speakers
• Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Spokesperson, Iran Human Rights
• Roya Boroumand, Executive Director at the Abdorrahman Boroumand Foundation
• Taimoor Aliassi, UN Representative of the Association for Human Rights in Kurdistan of Iran-Geneva (KMMK-G)
• Sedigheh Vasmaghi, Dr. in Islamic laws, Representative of LEGAM GROUP

Organisers : Hands off Cain, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Amnesty International
On 18 December 2014, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) reaffirmed its broad support for the Moratorium on Use of the Death Penalty resolution for the fifth time since 2007. Resolution A/RES/69/186 was passed with a record 117 votes in favour, 38 against, 34 abstentions and 4 absences. In December 2016, a new resolution will be put to the vote and the abolitionist movement faces a major challenge to ensure that more countries vote in favour. This event aimed to discuss strategies in order to increase the number of countries which support it.
Speakers
• S. E. Bayartsetseg Jigmiddash, Secretary of State for Justice of Mongolia
• Elisabetta Zamparutti, Member of the Committee for the Prevention of Torture of the Council of Europe, Treasurer of Hands Off Cain.
• Chiara Sangiorgio, International Secretariat, Death Penalty Adviser, Amnesty International
Moderator :
• Guillaume Colin, FIACAT, member of the Executive Board of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty

Organisers : World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Harm Reduction International, Reprieve, Amnesty International
On 10 October 2015, the World Day Against the Death Penalty was dedicated to the death penalty for drug-related offences and the United Nations’ General Assembly Special Session on Drugs took place in New York between 19th and 21st April 2016. This side event updated participants about the impact of the World Day, the conclusions of UNGASS and the strategy for the coming years.
Speakers
• Rick Lines, Executive Director, Harm Reduction International
• Maya Foa, Director, Death Penalty Section, Reprieve
• Mahmood Amiry-Moghaddam, Spokesperson, Iran Human Rights
• Shamini Darshni, Executive Director, Amnesty International Malaysia
Moderator :
• Aurélie Plaçais, Director, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty

Organiser : Death Penalty Worldwide
During this event, a presentation of a comparative study on the pathways to abolition of the death penalty taken by different countries, with the support of the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was presented. The goal was to collect experiences and strategies which could be helpful for individuals and organisations currently working towards abolition of the death penalty.
Speakers
• S. E. Rudolph Knoblauch, Swiss Ambassador to Norway
• Sandra Babcock, Clinical Professor and Director of the International Human Rights Clinic, Cornell Law School
• Delphine Lourtau, Research Director at Death Penalty Worldwide which is affiliated with Cornell University

Organiser : Penal Reform International (PRI)
This event presented PRI’s publication on Sharia law and the death penalty which highlights the jurisprudence, arguments and interpretations surrounding Sharia law and the death penalty in different Islamic schools. Additionally, participants were able to discuss advocacy tactics, strategies and arguments which are based on interpretation of Sharia and how these can be used with governments.
Speakers
• Dr. Abd Al Samad Al-Dailami, Islamic Scholar
• Abderrahim Jamaï, Coordinator of the Moroccan Coalition against the Death Penalty
Moderator
• Taghreed Jaber, PRI MENA Director

Organisers : World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in collaboration with Belgium, Chile, France, Norway, Spain and Switzerland
During this event, diplomats from Australia, Canada, Niger, New Zealand, the Netherlands and others were able to learn more about the work and functioning of the group of countries which officially supports the campaign for ratification of international and regional protocols for abolition of the death penalty (Belgium, Chile, France, Norway, Spain and Switzerland).

The impact of a death sentence on the children of parents sentenced to death or executed represents a powerful argument against the death penalty, one that is applicable in all countries, at all stages of the process (from arrest to post-execution). As well as the humanizing effect of talking about death row prisoners as parents, it is hard to argue against the profound and unintended impacts of the death penalty on children. Understanding the wider impacts of the death penalty can be used to advocate for limiting its use.
Speakers
• Laurel Townhead, Representative, Human Rights and Refugees, Quaker United Nations Office
• Daniel Cullen, Programme Assistant, Human Rights and Refugees, Quaker United Nations Office

Organiser : The Maldivian Democracy Network
The Maldives legal system comprises a admixture of Sharia and English Common Law. Laws have been codified to avoid strict interpretations of Shari’a, which only explicitly apply to Hudud offences – including fornication – under criminal law and for matters relating to family law. Since 1952, the country has practiced an unofficial moratorium on the death penalty. However, with the cultural increase in fundamentalist views and lifestyles coupled with a drastic rise in crime in the past decade, the new Government ratified a regulation in April 2014 to end the moratorium on capital punishment despite local and foreign grave concerns regarding the highly politicised and corrupt Maldivian criminal justice system. According to Amnesty International, around 20 people are currently on death row, including minors.
Speakers
• Ahmed Mohamed, MDN’s advocacy consultant
• Mushfiq Mohamed, human rights lawyer working in the Maldives