Regional countries urged to abolish death penalty

WASHINGTON, CMC – The Inter- American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) Wednesday urged Caribbean countries that still have the death penalty to abolish it or at least to impose a moratorium on its application.
In a message marking International Day against the Death Penalty on Thursday, the IACHR said regional instruments for protection of human rights do not prohibit per se the imposition of the death penalty, but they establish specific restrictions and prohibitions regarding its application.
“The American Convention on Human Rights establishes provisions required to limit its application, with the aim of achieving its gradual disappearance,” the IACHR said, pointing to a clear global trend toward abolishing the death penalty, based on recent developments in this matter at the United Nations.