11 March 2015 –
On Monday, 16 March 2015, at 10:15 a.m, the Greater Caribbean for Life (GCL) will address the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) about issues relating to the death penalty in the Greater Caribbean. GCL will address the IACHR during a dedicated thematic hearing, to take place at the Organisation of American States (OAS) headquarters in Washington, D.C., USA. This hearing will be transmitted live.
GCL, a regional NGO working towards the abolition of the death penalty, will share information about its work and will highlight the main human rights challenges linked to the continued presence of capital punishment in the legal systems of 13 countries of the Greater Caribbean Region, in particular the retention of the mandatory death penalty in Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados. GCL will also highlight some of the positive developments in the region, for example, the fact that:
- Recent abolition of capital punishment by the Parliament of Suriname;
- at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in Dec 2014, Suriname changed its vote from an abstention to a “Yes”, thus supporting, for the first time, the UNGA Resolution 69/186 which calls for a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty; and
- Barbados has agreed to amend its national legislation to remove from its criminal code the mandatory death penalty for murder convictions.
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The majority of the 35 Members of the OAS have abolished the death penalty; some of them were pioneers such as Venezuela and Costa Rica, countries that made the choice to abolish the death penalty as early as 1863 and 1877. Yet, fourteen States retain capital punishment, all being countries of the Greater Caribbean, with the exception of the United States.
Although executions have not been carried out in the region since 2008, GCL is deeply concerned that action being taken by some politicians in some retentionist countries could lead to the resumption of executions in those countries. GCL is also concerned about the potential impact of political debates calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty in some countries where it has been abolished.
GCL’s Chair, Leela Ramdeen, and Deputy Chair, Carmelo Campos-Cruz, who will represent the GCL at the hearing say: “GCL welcomes the opportunity to let the Commission and the people of the Americas know that there are voices in Caribbean civil society that oppose capital punishment in all circumstances, and that will continue to call for non-lethal solutions to crime. The death penalty is not a deterrent to crime; it does not address the root causes of crime; nor does it contribute to the development of peaceful, just societies. It simply adds to the cycle of violence that threatens to overwhelm us in the region. ”
Greater Caribbean for Life is a non-sectarian, regional civil society organization that is striving to encourage retentionist countries in the Caribbean region to adopt non-lethal means of dealing with crime and violence. GCL was constituted on October 2, 2013, in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, and comprises abolitionist activists and organizations from fifteen nations of the Greater Caribbean.
The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights is an autonomous body of the OAS with a mandate to promote respect for human rights in the region and acts as a consultative body to the OAS in this area. The Commission is composed of seven independent members who are elected in an individual capacity by the OAS General Assembly and who do not represent their countries of origin or residence.
For further information, contact Leela Ramdeen on 1 868 299 8945, Carmelo Campos Cruz on 787 648-5624 or via e-mail at: contact@gcforlife.org.
