October 10 marks the World Day Against the Death Penalty.
"Today, in too many parts of the world, including on our continent, the death penalty remains in force. While the death penalty has been abolished in many countries, there are unfortunately more and more people campaigning for reintroducing it," Agramunt said in the opening speech of PACE's autumn session in Strasbourg.
The PACE president noted that "two of our observer states – the US and Japan — still apply the death penalty," and urged efforts to convince them to cease the practice.
The European Union and the Council of Europe have also issued a joint declaration condemning the capital punishment "in all circumstances and for all cases."
According to watchdog Amnesty International, by the end of 2015, 102 countries had completely abolished the death penalty. Belarus is currently the only European country where capital penalty is still applied, while the United States is the only Western country to still use the death penalty.
