We, the undersigned, as citizens of the world opposed to the death penalty, demand that the United States and Japan be suspended as observers at the European Council.
On August 22, 2007, Texas carried out its 400th execution in 25 years and Japan carried out 3 executions on the same day. While the European Union has always voiced a strong opposition to capital punishment, it has, however, never moved beyond statements of intention.
This urgent situation calls for action as statements do not and will not change this dramatic state of affairs. In a recent statement, you declared: "Despite the potential unpopularity of the measure, capital punishment must be totally removed in all countries which strive to uphold democracy, the rule of law and human rights", and in 2001 during the first International Congress against the Death Penalty, which took place in Strasbourg, representatives of all European Union states signed a resolution calling for universal abolition. Since then we, as abolitionists, have been completely abandoned in the face of the terrible ongoing wave of US executions, especially in Texas.
The European Union continues to display verbal convictions that it is obviously unable or unwilling to support with committed actions in defense of its beliefs. We expect and demand action beyond mere words to help bring government-sanctioned killing to an immediate and unconditional end.
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