11 April 2016 – The Philippines continued its global advocacy against the death penalty when it attended the International Conference titled “Death Penalty: Transcending the Divide” on March 10 in Minsk, Belarus. At the conference, Philippine Ambassador to the Russian Federation Carlos D. Sorreta told the participants that abolishing the death penalty is a priority for the Philippines, given its strong commitment to human rights.
During the open forum, Ambassador Sorreta shared with the participants that the Philippines strongly support global efforts to abolish the death penalty. He said that this issue is of such fundamental importance that it is “enshrined in our Constitution and embodied in our laws.”
Ambassador Sorreta also expressed the hope that other countries will join these efforts. He cited in particular the Joint Declaration by the Philippines and eighteen other states on October 10, 2015 during the 4th World Day Against the Death Penalty. The Joint Declaration called for the worldwide abolition of capital punishment and noted the growing international support for this initiative.
He also pointed out Philippine efforts at the United Nations, including the co-sponsorship with 95 other states of a resolution at the 69th United Nations General Assembly calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty.
The conference was organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Belarus and the UN/UNDP Office in Belarus. The conference was opened by Mr. Valentin Rybakov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Belarus.
Present at the conference were Belarusian and foreign legislators, judicial authorities, law-enforcement, members of the academe, non-governmental organizations, and diplomats. Main speakers were from Great Britain, Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, United States, Czech Republic, Switzerland, Office of the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights and the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights. The EU Special Representative for Human Rights Stavros Lambrinidis, and the representative of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Andrea Rigoni, also spoke at the conference. END
