§ Mr. BercowTo ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what(a) national and (b) EU programmes are in progress to encourage states to abolish the death penalty. [101007]
§ Mr. HainThe United Kingdom opposes the death penalty in all circumstances. Together with EU partners, we regularly call upon all states to abolish it. Where the death penalty is retained, we urge states to apply it only for the most serious crimes and to observe international minimum standards such as the non-execution of minors, pregnant women or the insane.
The UK, along with its EU partners, regularly carries out demarches in a number of countries including most recently, Trinidad and Tobago, Guyana, the USA, Iran, Ukraine, the Philippines and Uganda.