In 1981, a new victory for human dignity occurred on the long road to universal abolition: France finally abolished the death penalty. Today, 113 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. But the fight continues for the universal abolition of the death penalty.
45 years ago, the death penalty was still a reality in France. It was in 1981 that the country turned away from this punishment of another era. Every year, on October 9th, World Day Against the Death Penalty is an opportunity to celebrate this historic act, the day when France put an end to intentional and premeditated homicides, state-sanctioned killings.
Since then, regardless of the governments, France has always affirmed its opposition, in all circumstances, to the death penalty. Today, the abolition of the death penalty has made its way, step by step, victory after victory, country after country.
In 1977, we launched our fight by organizing a conference that concluded with the adoption of the Stockholm Declaration, a founding text for the universal abolition of the death penalty. At that time, only 16 countries had completely abolished the death penalty. Today, thanks to your mobilization, 145 countries, more than two-thirds of the countries worldwide, have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. Tremendous and measurable progress continues to be made even though a final third of countries remains to be convinced.
In 1979, we published our first global statistical report on the death penalty. From that moment, we became a global reference in observing and reporting on death sentences and executions carried out by governments worldwide.
We have tirelessly campaigned on emblematic cases that clearly highlighted the unfair nature of the death penalty, such as Troy Davis, a young African American sentenced to death in Georgia and executed in 2011. His story emphasized the need to fight against the arbitrary application of the death penalty in the United States. More recently, our organization acted in favor of Rocky Myers, the first black person to be pardoned in the United States in 2025.
We have also supported the abolitionist movement internationally. We were one of the founding members of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in 2002 and supported the creation of an Asian network against the death penalty in 2006. In 2007, we submitted to the United Nations over five million signatures in favor of a global suspension of all executions. A month later, the UN adopted its first resolution on the suspension of executions.
This positive momentum towards abolition continues today. In 2025, Vietnam abolished the death penalty for eight crimes, and Gambia abolished the death penalty for murder, treason, and other offenses against the state. In Lebanon and Nigeria, bills aiming at abolition are currently being examined by the legislative assemblies.
As the world gradually moves towards total abolition, we must not let our guard down. In 2025, over 2,700 executions were recorded worldwide, a 78% increase in one year. A handful of states including China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States continue to resort to the cruelest and inhumane punishment that exists.
Because the death penalty is irreversible, universal abolition must be as well. We will fight tirelessly until the total disappearance of this inhumane punishment.
