Joint Local Statement following an execution in Singapore on 7 August 2024

Joint Local Statement following an execution in Singapore on 7 August 2024

The Delegation of the European Union issues the following statement together with the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and the diplomatic missions of Norway and Switzerland in Singapore

7 August 2024

The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland deplore the execution of a Singaporean citizen on 7 August 2024, following the execution of another citizen on 2 August 2024.

We strongly oppose the use of capital punishment at all times and in all circumstances. The death penalty is incompatible with the inalienable right to life and is a cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment.

Furthermore, it fails to act as a deterrent to crime and makes possible miscarriages of justice irreversible. Moreover, rehabilitation as an objective of modern criminal law is rendered impossible by the application of capital punishment.

We advocate for Singapore to adopt a moratorium on all executions as a positive first step towards its abolition.

Today, more than two thirds of the countries of the world have become abolitionist in law or practice, which confirms a global trend in favour of the abolition of the death penalty.

We will continue to work actively to further the universal trend towards the eradication of the death penalty.