Final declaration of the first meeting of the Greater Caribbean for Life

Port of Spain –2 October 2013

We, The Members of the Greater Caribbean for Life, at our first meeting in Trinidad and Tobago on 2 October 2013,

Welcoming that no executions have been carried out in the Greater Caribbean since 2008, and that the number of death sentences imposed in the region has been declining,

Recognizing that 140 countries are now abolitionist in law or practice and that the worldwide trend is moving away from the death penalty,

Noting with deep concern the alarming increase in crime rates in the region over the past ten years,

Mindful of the lack of evidence of the deterrent effect of the death penalty,

Reaffirming that all persons have the right to life and that the death penalty is the ultimate denial of human rights,

1. Adopt this Declaration after two days of intense debates, shared experiences, testimonies and numerous commitments of abolitionist individuals, and organizations from 12 countries of the Greater Caribbean, and commit ourselves to:

(a) campaign towards the abolition of the death penalty, inclusive of creating a culture of promotion and protection of human rights,

(b) support the vision, mission and objectives of the Greater Caribbean for Life, whose Constitution was adopted by its members today, 2 October 2013 [LINK] ;

2. Call upon governments of countries in the Greater Caribbean that still retain the death penalty[1] to:

(a) accede to the relevant international and regional conventions that create the obligation to abolish the death penalty and to report to the relevant international and regional bodies about the progress made in achieving the objectives settled in the relevant conventions;

(b) immediately establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty, as recommended by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights in its 2012 report on the death penalty[2] and in line with four resolutions adopted by the UN General Assembly since 2007[3];

(c) commute all death sentences to terms of imprisonment that conform with international human rights norms and standards and establish a moratorium on death sentences;

(d) promote a meaningful national and regional debate on the human rights issues that are relevant to the death penalty, including publishing regular and reliable information on the implementation of capital punishment and moves towards its abolition in the region and worldwide;

(e) abolish provisions in national law that are contrary to international human rights law and standards, such as those in Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago providing for the mandatory imposition of the death penalty;

(f) ensure that international human rights law and standards are observed in all capital cases at all stages of the process;

(g) develop and enhance crime prevention programs that tackle the root causes of crime.

(h) engage civil society organizations in the development of effective strategies for combating crime;

3. Call upon governments of countries in the Greater Caribbean that have abolished the death penalty to:

(a) engage in concrete and strong action in favour of the abolition of the death penalty in the Greater Caribbean, especially in their diplomatic relations with the retentionist countries;

(b) promote, as part of the regional effort to fight crime in the region, the non-application of the death penalty in the Greater Caribbean;

4. Encourage civil society to support the mission of the Greater Caribbean for Life.

Adopted in Port of Spain 2 October 2013

Background information

The Executive Committee of the Greater Caribbean for Life as elected on 2 October 2013 is as follows:

– Leela Ramdeen, Catholic Commission for Social Justice-Trinidad and Tobago, Chair

– Carmelo Campos-Cruz, Puerto Rico Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Deputy-Chair

– Mariana Nogales Molinelli, Puerto Rico Coalition, Secretary

– Nicole Sylvester, President of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association, Deputy-Secretary

– Fenella Wenham, D’Infinite Inc.-Dominica, Treasurer

– Lloyd Barnett, Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights

– Mario Polanco, Grupo de Apoyo Mutuo, Guatemala

Other members include:

– Antoinette Moore, Human Rights Commission of Belize, Belize

– Ayanna Nelson, Grenada

– Carmen Aida Ibarra, Movimiento Pro Justicia, Guatemala

– Elizardo Sanchez, Comision Cubana de Derechos Humanos y Reconciliacion Nacional, Cuba

– Elsworth Johnson, Bahamas Bar Association and Bahamas Human Rights, the Bahamas

– Godfrey P. Smith, Marine Parade Chambers, Belize

– Rev. Gwenolyn Ruth Greaves, Hope Support Group, Trinidad and Tobago

– Rev. Peter Espeut, Jamaica

– R.E.Barnes, Bahamas Human Rights Network, the Bahamas

– Selwyn Strachan, Grenada

– Sir Clare K. Roberts, Human Rights for All, Antigua and Barbuda

– Stephen Fraser, Fraser, Housty & Yearwood, Attorneys-at-Law, Guyana