Papua New Guinea must not restart executions

An open letter from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch
14 July 2009

The Papua New Guinea government should abolish the death penalty instead of putting it back into effect, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International said in a joint letter this week.

In the letter to Dr. Allan Marat, justice minister and attorney general, the two human rights organizations criticized statements by Papua New Guinea government officials calling for steps that would enable it to carry out executions.

Recent violent crimes, including the alleged killings of four children by their mother, led to statements by officials that they were considering reinstating executions. Marat told journalists recently that his office was drawing up regulations necessary to conduct executions.

Papua New Guinea has not carried out an execution since 1954, despite Parliament's reintroduction of the death penalty for wilful murder in 1991.

"The death penalty is a violation of the right to life and Papua New Guinea would damage its credibility by re introducing it," said Amnesty International's Pacific researcher Apolosi Bose.

"Instead, Papua New Guinea should uphold the guarantees of the right to life and freedom from cruel, inhumane, and degrading treatment found in its own constitution and international legal commitments."

Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch oppose the death penalty in all cases as a violation of fundamental rights.

The organizations have called on Papua New Guinea to abolish the death penalty and to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The organizations also called on the government to strengthen its judicial system so that those convicted of crimes face just penalties that comply with international standards.

"Restarting executions would be a huge step backward for Papua New Guinea that would move the country away from the prevailing trend of world opinion and practice," said Zama Coursen-Neff, deputy director of the Children’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch.

"Papua New Guinea should strengthen its criminal justice system, but there's no evidence that the death penalty actually deters crimes more than other punishments."

The death penalty has been legally abolished by 94 countries, and only a small minority of countries – 25 in 2008 – continues to carry out executions.

Open letter to Papua New Guinea Minister of Justice

Letter urging the Minister of Justice to abolish death penalty

Hon. Dr. Allan Marat
Minister of Justice
Department of Justice
Government of Papua New Guinea
Port Moresby

Dear Minister Marat:

We write to express concern over your recent statements in Parliament suggesting that the death penalty might be soon implemented for the first time since Papua New Guinea gained self-governance and independence and that your office may develop regulations to do so. Not only would this be a highly regressive measure for justice and human rights within Papua New Guinea, it would also be in stark contrast to the prevailing trend of world opinion and practice.

Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International are opposed to the death penalty in all circumstances as a violation of fundamental rights-the right to life and the right not to be subjected to cruel, inhuman, and degrading punishment. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch are international, nongovernmental organizations that monitor the compliance of countries with their obligations under international human rights law. Both have Special Consultative Status at the United Nations, and regularly report on human rights conditions in countries around the world and actively promote legislative and policy reform worldwide to ensure compliance with international human rights standards and international humanitarian law.

We acknowledge that Papua New Guinea has not carried out an execution since 1954, despite Parliament's 1991 reintroduction of the death penalty for willful murder. We welcome Papua New Guinea's accession in 2008 to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), an important step towards guaranteeing respect for fundamental human rights in the country. We urge Papua New Guinea to continue in this direction by abolishing the death penalty and ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, which abolishes the death penalty. Such a move would allow Papua New Guinea to join the community of 94 countries that have already legally abolished this cruel and inhuman practice.

We understand that cases such as the recent murder of four children by their mother have caused immense shock and sadness throughout the country. And we note that the pressure for the state to act decisively against such crimes is immense. However, simply because a person may have killed brutally does not mean that the state should do the same. It is the responsibility of the state to respect fundamental human rights in its delivery of justice.

There is no credible evidence that the death penalty deters serious crime more effectively than other punishments. The most recent surveys of research findings on the relation between the death penalty and homicide rates, conducted for the United Nations (UN) in 1988 and updated in 1996 and 2002, concluded: "research has failed to provide scientific proof that executions have a greater deterrent effect than life imprisonment. Such proof is unlikely to be forthcoming. The evidence as a whole gives no positive support to the deterrent hypothesis." On December 18, 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted by a wide margin a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. The resolution states that "there is no conclusive evidence of the death penalty's deterrent value," and that the "use of the death penalty undermines human dignity."

The intrinsic fallibility of all criminal justice systems assures that even when full due process of law is respected, innocent persons are sometimes executed. The risk of error means that the death penalty inevitably claims the lives of those later found to be innocent, as has been persistently demonstrated. Executions are inevitably carried out in an arbitrary manner, inflicted primarily on the most vulnerable-the poor and the mentally ill.

We also note that as of late 2008, a boy under the age of 18 was imprisoned under a sentence of death. The prohibition on the death penalty for crimes committed by juvenile offenders is well established in international treaty and customary law. The overwhelming majority of states comply with this standard. Both the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights prohibit capital punishment for persons under the age of 18 at the time of the offense. In 1994 the UN Human Rights Committee stated that it considered the prohibition against capital punishment for children to be part of international customary law.

Currently, Papua New Guinea's criminal code prescribes hanging as the method of execution, and your recent statements in parliament also reference lethal injection as a possible alternative. The death penalty always constitutes cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment whatever the method of execution.

As Minister of Justice, you play a critical role in bringing justice for victims of crime as well as those accused of committing crimes. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International encourage you to use your position as Minister of Justice to strengthen the judicial system so that perpetrators of crimes face just penalties that are in compliance with international standards. In addition, we urge you to use your influence with the government to promote abolishment of the death penalty in Papua New Guinea and ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR.

Thank you for your attention to our concerns, and we look forward to receiving a response from you at your earliest convenience

Yours sincerely,
Zama Coursen-Neff
Deputy Director
Children's Rights Division
Human Rights Watch

Donna Guest
Deputy Programme Director
Asia Pacific Programme
Amnesty International

cc. Hon. Sam Abal
Minister for Foreign Affairs

Related stories:
Papua New Guinea: 'Waiting for' execution guidelines -- 8 July 2009
Papua New Guinea: Ending its isolation? -- 26 April 2006