UN General Assembly Resolution Indicates Further Progress on Capital Punishment

The United Nations General Assembly adopted its fourth resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty on 20 December, by a vote of 111 votes in favour, with 41 votes against and 34 abstentions.

The resolution was first presented in 2007, then again in 2008, and subsequently on alternative years. The results show a consistent increase in support for the resolution.

                  2007        2008         2009       2012

In favour          104         106          109        111

Opposed             54          46           41         41

Abstain             29          34           35         34  

We get another picture by looking at this in terms of the percentage of the total number of votes:

                  2007        2008         2009       2012

In favour         55.6        57.0         58.9       59.7

Opposed           28.8        24.7         22.2       22.0

Abstain           15.5        18.3         18.9       18.3  

The ranks of the opponents have dwindled, in five years, from 54 to 41, which is a rate of 2.6 per year.  If the trend continues, they will be at 0 in 15.8 years, just in time for the 2028 resolution.

Attempts to adopt such a resolution in the 1990s, in 1994 and 1994, were unsuccessful. This shows how this debate has progressed over the years.