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A resolution to ban the death penalty worldwide has been passed in the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). In the voting held on Friday, 133 countries voted in its support, while 33 countries including India opposed it. 16 countries abstained from voting.
India said that there is no consensus in the world to abolish death penalty. It is wrong to call the hanging carried out after completing the legal process as ‘murder committed by the government’.
This proposal was presented by Mexico. In this, an appeal was made to all the countries to ban executions and gradually abolish the death penalty. Apart from India, America, China, Pakistan, Japan, Iran and Saudi Arabia also opposed it.
India said- every country has the right to make its own laws
Bhavika Mangalanandan, First Secretary of India’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, said that there is no consensus among the countries of the world on abolishing the death penalty. Every country has the right to decide its own laws and punishments.
He said, ‘International law allows death penalty with certain conditions. In India, this punishment is given only after the complete legal process. In such a situation, it is wrong to call it a murder committed by the government.
Bhavika also said that some people are trying to present their personal views as international law. India had also opposed such proposals in 2016, 2018 and 2024.
In India, hanging is carried out only in the most serious cases.
In India, death penalty is part of the law, but it is not given in every crime. According to the rules of the Supreme Court, it can be given only in the most serious cases i.e. ‘rarest of rare’ cases.
India told the United Nations that several legal procedures are followed before execution. The accused is considered innocent until his guilt is proven.
If death sentence is given by the lower court, its confirmation by the higher court is necessary. The court also considers the reasons for reducing the sentence.
Demand not to hang minors and pregnant women
The UN resolution stated that people who commit crimes under the age of 18 should not be given the death penalty. Even if a person’s age at the time of the crime cannot be determined, he should not be hanged.
Apart from this, an appeal was also made to exempt pregnant women, mentally or intellectually disabled people and the elderly from the death penalty. The resolution also called on countries to reduce the number of crimes for which capital punishment can be carried out.
Objection to considering illegal killing and legal punishment the same
India also protested against a part of another UN resolution. This proposal was related to killings carried out without legal process and arbitrary killing of people.
India’s objection was that it linked the death penalty to torture and inhuman treatment. Bhavika Mangalanandan said that the punishment given after the legal process of the court and the murder done without legal process cannot be considered the same.
However, India supported this second resolution prohibiting extrajudicial killings and human rights violations. He distanced himself only from the paragraph in which the death penalty was linked to torture.
America protested, France welcomed
America also voted against the resolution banning the death penalty. US Representative Yarina Ferencevich said that the decision to continue or abolish the death penalty should be made within each country’s own democratic system.
He also said that countries that impose the death penalty should ensure fair trials and prohibit methods that cause more pain than necessary.
At the same time, France welcomed the passing of the resolution. He called it an important step towards abolishing the death penalty worldwide.
Will hangings stop in India?
No. This UN resolution is not legally binding. That means it is not necessary for any country to accept it. In India, the provision of death penalty for some very serious crimes like murder and terrorism will continue as before.
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