Armenia becomes 45th member state to abolish the death penalty in all circumstances

The Permanent Representative of Armenia to the Council of Europe, Ambassador Arman Khachatryan, in the presence of Secretary General Marija Pejčinović Burić, has deposited the ratification instrument, thereby completing the process of ratification by Armenia of Protocol No. 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights, which represents the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances.

Armenia is the 45th member state of the Council of Europe to have ratified this Protocol (for details, see signatures and ratifications). The Protocol bans the death penalty in all circumstances, including for crimes committed in times of war and imminent threat of war. No derogation or reservation is allowed to Protocol No. 13.

The treaty complements Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR (abolition of the death penalty in all cases except in time of war), which has been ratified by all member states.

Accession to both Protocols is optional and signifies the states’ commitment to the overall abolition of the death penalty in law and practice.

2023 marks the 20th anniversary of the entry into force of Protocol No. 13.

In its recent joint statement on the European and World Day against the Death Penalty marked on 10 October, the Secretary General and the High Representative, on behalf of the European Union, welcomed the ratification of Protocol No. 13 by the National Assembly of Armenia and its signature by Azerbaijan, and encouraged both member states to swiftly complete the ratification process.

Source: coe.int, Staff, October 19, 2023

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"One is absolutely sickened, not by the crimes that the wicked have committed,

but by the punishments that the good have inflicted."

— Oscar Wilde

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