Switzerland ‘deeply concerned’ by Trump’s death penalty order
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Switzerland ‘deeply concerned’ by Trump’s death penalty order
Switzerland has told the Geneva-based United Nations Human Rights Council that it is "deeply concerned" by US President Donald Trump's recent executive order to strengthen capital punishment at federal and state level.
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“The death penalty runs counter to human rights,” Tim Enderlin, Head of the Peace and Human Rights Division at the Swiss foreign ministry, told the council on Monday. He pointed out that there was no evidence to show that the death penalty had a “deterrent effect” against crime, compared with longer prison sentences.
Following his inauguration, Trump signed an executive order committing to pursue federal death sentences and pledging to ensure that states have sufficient supplies of lethal injection drugs for executions. His predecessor Joe Biden had declared a moratorium on federal executions.
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Switzerland is not neutral on the death penalty
The executive order promises that Trump’s attorney general will seek capital punishment for “all crimes of a severity demanding its use”, specifying that the US will seek the death penalty in every case involving murder of law enforcement and a capital crime committed by an undocumented person, “regardless of other factors”.
During its statements before the human rights council, Switzerland also expressed its concerns about the ongoing restrictions on fundamental freedoms in Tajikistan. In particular, it deplores recent legal and administrative measures which “impose high requirements” that prevent the functioning of civil society. Switzerland called on the Tajik authorities to honour their international obligations.
Adapted from French by DeepL/sb
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