On the 20th European and World Day Against the Death Penalty, Belgium's Ministry of Foreign Affairs used the occasion to reaffirm with a press release its objective of abolishing the death penalty worldwide.
"There will be no lasting peace until death is outlawed,” these were the words used by Belgium's Foreign Affairs Minister Hadja Lahbib, originally written by French author Albert Camus, to reaffirm her country's desire to abolish the death penalty around the world.
As a result, in the context of Belgium's candidacy for the United Nations Human Rights Council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has recalled the various international efforts they had taken to end capital punishment in the 55 countries where it is still legal, of which only 18 carried out executions in 2021.
For example, it will support the adoption of a new resolution by the United Nations General Assembly calling for a moratorium on the application of the death penalty.
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Furthermore, they will also vote to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aims to eliminate the death sentence worldwide.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also stated that they will be working with NGOs involved in this field to boost the capacity of civil societies to advocate for the elimination of the death penalty, where necessary.
