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David Ward MPMember of Parliament for Bradford East@DavidWardMP on Twitter and Facebook |
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David Ward MP <>
Balwant Singh Death Penalty
The proposed date of 31st March has been suspended whilst India's president considers an appeal by the Punjab Government. By law, only the country's President or the Supreme Court can stop an execution. If carried out, the execution would be the first in the country since 2004.
To be absolutely clear, the death penalty is abhorrent. It has been a longstanding policy for the UK to oppose the death penalty in any and all circumstances as a matter of principle. The UK is a party to the European Convention on Human Rights, to which Protocol 13 abolishes the use of the death penalty in all circumstances. As an individual, as a Liberal Democrat and as an MP, I have always worked hard to push for the abolition of Capital Punishment across the world and to oppose any reinstatement here at home. That is why I am pleased to announce that I have signed EDM 2906, which states:
"That this House notes with extreme concern that the Indian authorities have decided to end the country's moratorium on the implementation of the death penalty and are planning to execute Mr Balwant Singh by hanging on 31 March 2012; and calls on the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs as a matter of urgency to make representations to the Indian government urging that this execution is not proceeded with and that capital punishment is abolished in India."
There is a growing international momentum towards abolition of the death penalty and in the past two decades we have seen a significant rise in the number of countries becoming abolitionist. Presently more than two-thirds of all countries have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. Out of 41 countries in the Asia-Pacific region, 17 have officially abolished the death penalty for all crimes and ten are abolitionist in practice. Last year, my Liberal Democrat colleague, Jeremy Browne MP, launched the Government's Strategy for Abolition of the Death Penalty. This strategy includes three overarching goals:
- To further increase the number of abolitionist countries, or countries with a moratorium on the use of the death penalty;
- Further restrictions on the use of the death penalty in retentionist countries and reductions in the numbers of executions;
- To ensure EU minimum standards are met in countries which retain the death penalty.
However, our work is far from done. In recent months there have been a number of high profile cases of individuals who have been fighting to stay their executions, such as Balwant Singh. My Liberal Democrat colleagues and I are absolutely committed to the UK Governments efforts to achieve its objective of global abolition of the death penalty. Through our bilateral relationships as well as in European and international institutions we will continue to call on all retentionist states to formally establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, with a view to abolition.
I have written to the Foreign Secretary, The Rt Hon William Hague MP, about the concerns many of my constituents have raised on this issue and I will continue to keep pressure on the Government until justice prevails.
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