Last Thursday marked World Day Against the Death Penalty, a day to advocate for the abolition of the death penalty and raise awareness of the dire conditions facing people on death row.
You might think this date is irrelevant in New Zealand: we abolished the death penalty 35 years ago.
But around the world the practice continues to be used and there’s always a risk this archaic punishment will make a further deadly comeback, including in the Pacific.
While the Pacific is the only region in the world not actively using the death penalty, in the past four months, politicians in both Fiji and Tonga have suggested it should be considered as a tool to curb the growing harm of international drug trafficking.
Technically, Tonga is the last country in the Pacific to retain the death penalty in legislation, whereas Fiji abolished the practice in 1979.
Calls for capital punishment were quickly shut down in both countries, but it is deeply concerning to see this argument rear its ugly head.
The death penalty is a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. Executing someone is the ultimate act of violence. It denies a person their most fundamental right: the right to life.
The death penalty should be opposed in all cases without exception — regardless of the guilt or innocence of the accused, the nature of the crime, or the method of execution. Any government that executes offenders is committing the same violence it condemns.
Significant progress has been made since advocates first started calling to end the use of capital punishment: today, 144 countries have abolished the death penalty in practice or in law.
Still, it is clear that more needs to be done by abolitionist states such as New Zealand to halt any backsliding on these hard-earned human rights wins.
This is especially urgent in light of a recent global uptick in executions. Amnesty International recorded 1153 executions in 2023, an increase of 31% from the 883 known in 2022.
This is the highest figure recorded since 2015 and it signals an alarming risk to human rights around the world.
Importantly, these known totals do not include the thousands of people believed to have been executed in China, Vietnam and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea), where executions are treated as a state secret.
What we do know is that urgent action is needed to curb the growing use of capital punishment.
That’s why Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand has been calling on foreign embassies to end the use of the death penalty and overturn death sentences.
Earlier this year, we delivered a petition to the US embassy with over 35,000 signatures, all calling for justice for Rocky Myers, a black man with an intellectual disability.
He is facing the death sentence for the murder of a white woman in his neighbourhood, despite no evidence directly linking him to the crime.
His case has been riddled with discrimination and mistreatment, and we’re calling on the Governor of Alabama to intervene.
A huge number of New Zealanders have shown their support for Rocky by raising their voices and sending cards of solidarity for his 63rd birthday. It’s clear that, as a nation, we want to see more progress towards the abolition of the death penalty.
Another of the many reasons I am opposed to the death penalty is that it is disproportionately applied to people who are poor, marginalised, or belong to groups who already face entrenched discrimination.
This is especially true when it comes to drug-related charges — we need to see our leaders take a strong stance here.
In fact, executing people for drug-related crimes violates international human rights law and standards. Both the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) have condemned the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences and urged governments to move towards abolition.
Despite clear evidence and strong guidance, too many countries still revert to the death penalty as a deterrent for drug harm.
According to Amnesty International’s latest findings, executions for drug-related offences were recorded in China, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Singapore, while 249 new death sentences were imposed in at least 11 countries around the world.
In Thailand, of the 325 people under sentence of death at the end of 2023, 199 had been convicted of drug-related offences.
The fact that in 2024 there has been talk of the use of the death penalty by politicians in two Pacific countries is deeply concerning.
I call on the New Zealand government to continue to oppose the use of the death penalty globally and do all it can to see that the practice is abolished both in our region and around the world.
• Margaret Taylor is the people power manager at Amnesty International Aotearoa New Zealand.
