Statement at the 1st International Oslo Symposium on Death Penalty in Asia

Dear Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen, 

First of all to the organizers, thank you for your efforts in arranging this 1st International Oslo Symposium on Death Penalty in Asia.  

We welcome the participants at this symposium coming from all over Asia – as well as from many other corners of the world.  

Dear participants, 

I would like to use this opportunity to take up a very important point. This concerns the views and responsibilities of governments and the choice that governments have.  

This is an important point, because some governments claim that they have no choice.  

Some states that still use death penalty claim that there is a too strong popular demand for revenge or retribut­ion. Many also insist that their traditions, values and religion make it virtually impos­sible to abolish the death penalty. Some also give economic arguments. 

First and foremost they often claim that death penalty is an unavoidable evil. They believe that it protects vulnerable indivi­duals and ensures social stability. 

Although most do acknowled­ge that there is a risk of innocent people being executed and justice being undermined, again and again, they say that they have no choice. 

I disagree. The global shift over the last twenty years has brought about far greater freedom of choice for governments. The arguments for this are many,

I will mention four. 

• First: Research has shown that the death penalty does not prevent serious crime.
• Second: And even more impressive, we have seen that countries where the death penalty has been abolished have not suffered disastrous consequences. Indeed most have suffered no consequences at all with regard to stability or serious crime. 
• Third: The public in the vast majority of these countries has in fact quickly accepted the abolition of the death penalty. Almost no state  have reinstated the death penalty. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I will turn to a last argument. In my view the most remarkable:

There is no absolute demand for death penalty in any religion, culture or in criminal science. The vast majority of countries have in fact relinquished the death penalty –

There are countries that have chosen to abolish death penalty in all geographical regions, both rich and poor countries, of all cultures, all values, all traditions and of all religions. 

There are countries that have abolished the death penalty and countries that have retained it in the Western hemisphere, in Asia, in Africa and in the Middle East. There is great variation in the practice of the death penalty among countries with the same dominant religions. This applies to areas of predominantly Muslim, Christian, Hindu, Buddhist – and secular faiths and practices.

Each country seems indeed, to be free to chose, regardless of its economic status, cultural or religious belonging.

The door is therefore open for greater freedom for all countries to choose not to take lives. 

However, as we all know there is no absolute freedom, this freedom of choice is never absolute and is understood differently in different countries.

What is the role of research in this field? 

What research can do is to contribute to showing us the effects of death penalty and thereby give us the best possible basis for our decision. Our view is that when the knowledge is on the table, abolition will be the natural choice.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

One important aim of research is to understand.

It is to understand not only that this freedom of choice must exist, but to understand better how the choice itself is understood by different actors nationally and internationally, against the back drop of their history. 

I believe this symposium will further such understanding. 

As for the government in Norway,

We have pledged to work systematically and impartially to fight the death penalty in our relations with all states.

One of the first things this Government did when reassuming office after the election this autumn was to issue guidelines to all Norwegian embassies and the relevant sections in the Ministry on our efforts against the death penalty. 

Norway consistently protests against executions in all countries. Both alone and together with the EU, Switzerland, Canada and many other countries on all continents. 

We are working against the death penalty through our human rights dialogues with China, Indonesia and Vietnam. 

Norway was co-sponsor of the World Conference against the Death Penalty in Geneva . We strongly believe in the value of multi stakeholder initiatives such as the coalition against death penalty, where states, NGOs and committed individuals join forces. 

Today we are hosting the 1st International Oslo Symposium on Death Penalty in Asia for the same reason. 

I believe it is important that we continue to take a principled approach to the question of death penalty. Our message must be consistent where ever we speak and whoever we are speaking to, whether we are speaking in Africa, the Middle East or Asia, or in the USA. 

I am encouraged to see debates about death penalty in countries as far apart as Morocco and South Korea, - and also the renewed debates in key countries such as Japan and the USA. To meet the challenges of this situation, new research-based pro­jects and events are being planned in these countries as we speak. 

Ladies and Gentlemen, 

Twenty years ago, 52 countries had abolished the death penalty. Today, 148 countries have decided against capital punishment. This proves that the overwhelming majority of countries have chosen to refrain from using death penalty. The balance has tipped. The speed has been extraordinary. In 2008, only 25 nations carried out executions. 

We have seen grand global changes. Not only in views, but also in action. 

For me this is a sign that countries are free to choose a way forward that enables them to execute the law without executing their citizens. 

For me, this is a sign of a rising respect for human dignity and the sanctity of human life. 

Today, we are at a crucial point in the long battle against death penalty worldwide.

A real turning point. 

Norway will seek to ensure that it is a point of no return. 

But, to do this we need research to understand better how death penalty is seen and practised in the vastly important region of Asia.

I hereby declare the 1st International Oslo Symposium on Death Penalty in Asia for opened!