International texts on the death penalty
In the framework of the United Nations
The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in New York on 15 December 1989, provides for the definitive abolition of the death penalty.
92 states are parties to this Optional Protocol.
On 1 August 2007, the French Parliament authorized the ratification of this Second Optional Protocol. France acceded to it on 2 October 2007. Although it authorizes States Parties to apply this punishment during wartime if they have expressed a reservation to this effect, France did not express any such reservation when it ratified the Protocol.
This legally binding text is supplemented by resolutions on the death penalty adopted by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) and the Human Rights Council:
- At the UNGA, for example, a biennial resolution calling for a universal moratorium on the use of the death penalty was adopted in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018, 2020, 2022 and 2024 with majorities trending upwards. In 2024, this resolution received a record 130 “yes” votes, 32 “no” votes and 22 abstentions, which was five more “yes” votes than in 2022, which is notable progress, thanks to the increasing number of “yes” votes from African countries.
- At the Human Rights Council, this biennial resolution instigated by France and a group of co-drafters, is the first United Nations text to condemn the grave human rights violations arising from the use of the death penalty. It provides for the organization of a high-level panel meeting on this issue at the Human Rights Council every two years.
In the framework of the Council of Europe
- The Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms protects everyone’s right to life (Article 2). However, exceptionally, it authorizes the execution of a death sentence delivered by a court following conviction for a crime for which this penalty is provided by law. The European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms was ratified by France on 3 May 1974.
- Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted in April 1983, concerns the abolition of the death penalty in peacetime. It allows States Parties to make provision in their law for the death penalty in respect of acts committed “in time of war or of imminent threat of war”. France ratified Protocol No. 6 on 1 March 1986.
- Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, adopted in May 2002, provides for the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances, including in time of war or of imminent threat of war. Its aim is to “take the final step in order to abolish the death penalty in all circumstances”. This text entered into force for France on 1 February 2008.
In the framework of the European Union (EU)
All EU candidate countries have acceded to Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms concerning the abolition of the death penalty, which is now a prerequisite for accession to the European Union.
Furthermore, all EU Member States are signatories to Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances, adopted in May 2002.
The Charter of Fundamental Rights prohibits the death penalty (Article 2) and the expulsion or extradition of a person to a state where there is a serious risk that he or she would be subjected to the death penalty.
In 1998, the European Union adopted guidelines on the death penalty, with the aim of coordinating action by EU Member States on this issue, and made it a human rights priority for the EU.
Updated: March 2025