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The
International Helsinki Federation for Human Rights (IHF), which
represents Helsinki human rights monitoring groups in Europe, the
former Soviet Union and North America, condemns the use of the death
penalty in the United States as a violation of basic human rights and
as an obstacle in the struggle for human rights on the international
scene.
The
death penalty violates the fundamental right to life and the IHF
opposes it on principle. In the first eight months of 2000,sixty-six
inmates were executed in the U.S. Four of them were juvenile at the
time of the crime, one was mentally retarded and three volunteered the
execution. As of early September, there were 74 death row inmates (all
male) sentenced as juveniles. At a press conference the IHF organized
in New York in September together with Amnesty international USA, the
IHF stressed that the spectacle of executing minors and the mentally
handicapped by United States authorities in violation of international
standards undermined the credibility of America’s claim on moral
leadership.
There
are significant racial disparities in the application of the death
penalty: black defendants are much more likely to be sentenced to
death than white. Since 1973, over 80 people have been released from
death row with evidence of their innocence. This has not happened
because of the normal appeals process, but rather as a result of
investigations by journalists and the dedicated work of advocates and
expert attorneys. New DNA tests can also bring new clarity to many
cases. These however are not available to the typical death row
inmate. Against this background, the IHF is calling for a moratorium
on Federal executions as a step toward ending this barbaric and
retrograde practice.
One
of the central elements in the political and moral development of
post-communist states is to limit the power of states in general, and
in particular their power to impose the death penalty. While many
former Soviet republics now accept the principle of the sanctity of
life, in the United States the authorities still arrogate to
themselves the power to take human life. It is deplorable that
virtually no politician, even the most liberal, has the courage to
deal with this moral contradiction.
The
IHF considers that the persistence of practicing the death penalty in
the United States is a serious obstacle to reform in Eastern Europe.
Many
leaders in the OSCE territory want the death penalty because it
spreads fear and terror. Presidents in many transitional countries
want to have the power to decide matters of life and death. America’s
bad example hurts the efforts of human rights defenders to promote
human rights principles.
The
use of the death penalty by the USA is a "failure of moral
leadership." The OSCE need the U.S. to abide by Helsinki
principles and international standards if we are to convince other
states of the importance of those standards to human rights and
freedoms. We appeal to members of the U.S. delegation to urge their
leaders to fulfill their international responsibility.
Thank
you for your attention.
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