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“We must never be the bearers of death because we do not know what it is…”
Cocteau
FIACAT opposes the death penalty for all crimes and under all circumstances and FIACAT is working actively towards its universal abolition. All ACATs is involved in the fight for universal abolition of the death penalty because it constitutes cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.
The death penalty is a negation of the most fundamental human right, the right to life, as stated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights 1948; it can be considered as the ultimate form of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment. The years spent in death row are considered as a form of torture.
Today, we assist to a worldwide trend toward the abolition the death penalty; more than two thirds of the countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. This trend has been confirmed by the UN General Assembly which adopted, in December 2010, a Resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the use of the death penalty; it has been adopted by109 States.
World Coalition against the Death Penalty
The World Coalition against the Death Penalty (http://www.worldcoalition.org), was established May 13, 2002 to strengthen the international dimension of the fight against the death penalty; FIACAT is a founding member and was re-elected Member of its Steering Committee in 2009. The Coalition now includes more than 120 NGOs, bar associations, local authorities and trade-unions. Gathered in the coalition, organizations around the world have decided to establish a World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October each year, to strengthen international mobilization for the universal abolition of capital punishment.
Christians and the Death Penalty
FIACAT and ACATs ask Churches and Christians to openly take a stand against the death penalty and to pray for those sentenced to death.
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