noticias - Commission continues general debate on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights

noticias - Commission continues general debate on Promotion and Protection of Human Rights: "PATRIZIA SCANNELLA, of Amnesty International, said five countries had abolished the death penalty in 2004; the steady progress towards universal abolition was undeniable. Yet, executions persisted. In 2004, at least 3,797 people were executed in 25 countries and at least 7,395 were sentenced to death in 64 countries. The true totals were certainly higher. Most of the persons executed did not receive fair trials. With capital punishment's evident cruelty, its arbitrariness, and the inherent risk of executing the innocent, the application of the death penalty should be suspended immediately pending its abolition in law. Governments had a special duty to protect the most vulnerable members of society. Despite the new universal acceptance that the death penalty should not be imposed on offenders under age 18, child offenders were reportedly executed last year in China and Iran, and remained under sentence of death in several other countries. A valuable step to secure the abolition of the death penalty was to enshrine abolition in the Constitution. "