Markus Löning, the Federal Government Commissioner for Human Rights Policy and Humanitarian Aid at the Federal Foreign Office, issued the following statement today (8 October) to mark the World Day against the Death Penalty:

“The campaign against the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty is one of the key priorities of German human rights policy. Fighting to end the death penalty is worth the effort: more than two thirds of all countries have either abolished it or imposed a moratorium on executions.

To all the other countries we say clearly: the death penalty is not the solution to any problem. It does not prevent crime, nor does it create a peaceful society. I therefore call on all governments around the world to abolish the death penalty, or at least observe a moratorium on executions.”