The Minister for Human Rights Baroness Anelay and Baroness Stern said:

It is now 50 years since the last execution took place in the United Kingdom. On World Day Against the Death Penalty we reaffirm our belief that the death penalty has no place in the 21st century.

More than 150 members of the United Nations have already renounced capital punishment, in law or practice, and we hope that all other states will soon follow.

We call on the 69th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations to reaffirm, when it votes on the Resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty later this year, its support for the worldwide trend towards abolition. We are ready to work with other states, parliaments and civil society groups who share this hope.

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