European Day against the death penalty

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided on 26 September 2007, to declare a ''European Day against the Death Penalty,'' which is held annually on 10 October.

The Council of Europe has been a pioneer in the abolition process which has made Europe a de facto death-penalty-free zone since 1997.

The day is a European contribution to the World Day against the Death Penalty, which is held annually on the same day.

10 October 2009: European Day against the Death Penalty Death Penalty Day 2009 sees the Council of Europe pushing its campaign for world-wide abolition into new territory with an in-depth look at "why death is not justice", and a focus on how the criminal justice system can deal with offenders. Experts from Slovenia and Sweden, respectively the countries holding the presidency of the Council of Europe and the European Union, aired their views during a talk show recorded in Strasbourg before a live audience and screened worldwide via the internet to mark the Day. The Council is also taking its argument to the global public, with a question and answer session hosted on the social networking site Twitter, highlighting the reasons for the Council’s absolute opposition to executions

World Day against Death Penalty

7 countries still put people to death for same-sex acts

October 10 is World Day against Death Penalty. This is also the first European Day against Death Penalty as proclaimed by the Council of Europe on 27 September 2007.
The Council of Europe is the only region of the world de facto free from the death penalty as all its members have either abolished the death penalty or instituted a moratorium on executions. Belarus
(outside the CoE) is the only country that still has the death penalty actively on its books.
The death penalty is still carried out in other regions of the world and in seven countries the death penalty is applied for consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex.
ILGA and ILGA-Europe welcome and encourage the debate on the complete abolition of the death penalty and draw attention to the fact that 7 countries punish consensual sexual acts between adults of the same sex.
http://www.ilga.org/index.asp
Patricia Curzi & Stephen Barris / ILGA