“The
United Nations urges the abolition of the death penalty in all countries, and
stands ready to assist Member States to this end” said Ms. Rana Flowers, United
Nations Resident Coordinator in Mongolia, at a panel discussion on Wednesday on
the future of the death penalty in the country. The discussion was organized by
the United Nations in collaboration with Amnesty International, within the
broader framework of UN support to the Government on human rights.

“There
is a solid and longstanding worldwide trend towards abolition of the death
penalty,” said James Heenan of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human
Rights. “More than two thirds of countries in the world have now abolished capital
punishment, either in law or in fact. Many other countries, including Mongolia,
are observing a moratorium on executions”. 
In addition, the number of executions is shrinking globally.

The
meeting analyzed some of the reasons for moving ahead on eliminating death
penalty, as well as the process for doing so. Discussants raised a number
arguments in favor of abolition, including the obligation of the State to
respect the right to life, the high risk of executing an innocent person (with
examples provided from Mongolia), and the cruel and degrading nature of the
punishment. Experts referred to studies indicating that the death penalty does
not deter individuals from committing crime. “The best deterrent to criminality
is ensuring that would-be criminals know they have a very high chance of being
caught, prosecuted and punished” said Mr. Heenan. ”Rather, allowing the State
to kill can pass the message to some people in the community that killing is
acceptable in some circumstances”.

The
meeting heard strong support for abolition from the National Human Rights
Commission of Mongolia, the Ambassador of France and civil society. While Amnesty International Mongolia is campaigning for
abolition of the death penalty since 1994, their chairperson, Ms. Ravdan Yanjmaa, mentioned that “research demonstrates
that the death penalty is often applied in a discriminatory manner, being used
disproportionately against the poor, minorities and members of racial, ethnic
and religious communities”

The
Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Amnesty International and
the United Nations in Mongolia urge Mongolia to promptly ratify the Second
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and move towards a permanent ban on the use of the death penalty in
Mongolia.