The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland recall that the EU and our countries strongly oppose the use of capital punishment at all times and in all circumstances, which can never be justified, and 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. No evidence exists to show that the death penalty serves as a more efficient deterrent to crime than imprisonment. Moreover, rehabilitation as an objective of modern criminal law is rendered impossible by the application of capital punishment. Furthermore, any errors - inevitable in any legal system - are irreversible.

The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland will continue to actively work to further the universal trend towards the eradication of the death penalty.

Full Statement: