In a historic vote on Tuesday, the United Nations General Assembly advanced the global movement toward abolishing the death penalty by adopting its tenth resolution, entitled “Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty.”
More than two-thirds of the UN member states, including 130 countries, supported the resolution, while 32 opposed it, and 22 abstained. Argentina and Italy proposed the resolution on behalf of an Inter-Regional Task Force of member states which was co-sponsored by 70 states.
The resolution calls for countries worldwide to suspend all executions, with the ultimate goal of abolishing the death penalty. It also commends the efforts of countries that have reduced the number of crimes punishable by death and taken steps to mitigate existing death sentences.
The vote underscores a growing international consensus in favor of abolishing the death penalty, and is a significant milestone in furthering global human rights.