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Japan, the EU, and human rights. LU , Wenjie & ENKH-AMGALAN Dulguun May, 22nd, 2013. OUTLIINE. What is D eath P enalty? Development of Human Rights in Asia The Death Penalty and Japan EU policy on the Death Penalty. Death Penalty. What is Death Penalty?
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Japan, the EU, and human rights LU, Wenjie & ENKH-AMGALAN DulguunMay, 22nd, 2013
OUTLIINE • What is Death Penalty? • Development of Human Rights in Asia • The Death Penalty and Japan • EU policy on the Death Penalty
Death Penalty • What is Death Penalty? • a legal process whereby a person is put to death by the state as a punishment for a crime.
Use of the death penalty around the world(as of February 2011) (Amnesty International,2008)
Death Penalty • The international and regional instruments for the abolition of the death penalty and /or restricting its use include: • -World-wide: 2nd Optional Protocol to the International Convention on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); • -Regional: Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights, Protocols No 6 and 13 to the European Convention on Human Rights; • -UN minimum standards; • -Ban on the execution of juvenile offenders (ICCPR article 6, Convention on the Rights of the Child article 37)
Developments on Human Rights in Asia • Five have abolished the DP: Bhutan, Cambodia, Mongolia, Nepal, Philippines. • Six are abolitionist in practice: Brunei, Burma, Laos, Maldives, South Korea, Sri Lanka. • Four have a significant downward trend in executions: China, Malaysia, Pakistan and Singapore. • Nine have experienced little or no progress: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam.
MONGOLIA Method of Execution: Shooting [2] • January 5th, 2012 - abolished death penalty [3]
CHINA Method of Execution: Shooting
Japan Method of Execution: Hanging
The Death Penalty andJapan • The "Nagayama standard" • Degree of viciousness • Motive • How the crime was commited;especially the manner in which the victim was killed. • Outcome of the crime;especially the number of victims. • Sentiments of the bereaved family members. • Impact of the crime on Japanese society. • Defendant's age • Defendant's previous criminal record. • Degree of remorse shown by the defendant.
At least 1923 people sentenced to death, in 63 countries, in 2011 [4] • At least 18750 people, under sentence of death worldwide at the end of 2011
The Death Penalty andJapan • The Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) • won the election in 2012 • highly supportive of the Death Penalty • The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) • in power during 2009-2012 • less supportive of the Death Penalty
The Death Penalty andJapan (Bacon, 2012)
EU Policy on the Death Penalty • The EU is the leading institutional actor in the fight against the death penalty worldwide and its action in this area represents a key priority of its external human rights policy.
4 recent EU documents on human rights and democracy • December 2011: High Representative of the EU, Human Rights and Democracy at the Heart of EU External Action - Towards a More Effective Approach. • June 2012: Council of the European Union, EU Strategic Framework on Human Rights and Democracy. • June 2012: Council of the European Union, EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy. • October 2012: European Parliament, Enhancing EU Action on the Death Penalty in Asia, Briefing Paper.
Core elements of the 4 EU documents • Renewal - policy needs to be ‘more active, more coherent, more effective’. • Tailoring – need to create tailored, bottom-up, country-specific human rights strategies. • Priorities - administration of justice, and the right to a fair trial (due process) recognized as human rights priorities. • Universal - commits the EU to universal human rights norms. • Local – commits the EU to working in partnership with local civil society organizations. • Campaigns - need for cross-cutting themes such as judicial reform, right to a fair trial (HR). • HR – in some countries, abolition of the death penalty is unlikely. • In such cases it would be more practical to shift attention to other issues. • Parliament – countries are at different stages on journey to abolition, and therefore require different strategies. • All states to ratify and implement universal human rights treaties. • Four documents all explicitly recommend that EU should draw on standards in reports produced by the UN human rights bodies.
Bibliography • Bacon, Paul, Developing the EU’s new “more effective approach” to human rights and democracy: suggestions for a tailored human rights strategy for Japan, EUIJ Waseda, 2012. • The Death Penalty Project, 2013, The Death Penalty in Japan • [1] U.S. Dept. of State, Background Note: Mongolia, • http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2779.htm, Jan. 6, 2012. • [2] San Diego Accountants Guide, Capital Punishment in Mongolia Multimedia Information, • http://www.sandiegoaccountantsguide.com/library/Capital-punishment-in-Mongolia.php, • Jun. 25, 2010. • [3] National Human Rights Commission of Mongolia http://www.mn-nhrc.org/eng/ • [4] Death Sentences and Executions in 2011 • http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ACT50/001/2012/en/241a8301-05b4-41c0-bfd9-2fe72899cda4/act500012012en.pdf