Death Penalty Publications
In March 2012, PRI published five new research papers on the abolition of the death penalty and its alternative sanctions in five regions of the world:
Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan (published in English and Russian)
East Africa: Kenya and Uganda (published in English)
Eastern Europe: Belarus, Russia and Ukraine (published in English and Russian)
South Caucasus: Armenia, Azerbaijan and Georgia (published in English, Georgian and Russian)
The five research papers focus on the application of the death penalty and life imprisonment as an alternative to it. They aim to provide up-to-date information about the laws and practices relating to the application of the death penalty, including an analysis of the alternative sanctions and whether they reflect international human rights standards and norms.
The papers provide detailed and practical recommendations tailored to each country to bring it in line with international human rights standards and norms.
These research papers have been produced in conjunction with PRI’s project “Progressive Abolition of the Death Penalty and Alternatives that Respect International Human Rights Standards”, with the financial assistance of the European Union under the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). The project officially ended on 31 March 2012.
PRI hopes that these research papers will assist advocacy efforts towards abolition of the death penalty and the implementation of humane alternative sanctions in the five regions. We also hope they will be of use to researchers, academics, members of the international and donor community, and all other stakeholders involved in penal reform processes including parliamentarians, prison officials and members of the judiciary.
In April 2011, PRI published five new publications on the abolition of the death penalty and alternative sanctions that respect international human rights standards.
The Death Penalty Information Pack and the Alternative Sanctions to the Death Penalty Information Pack are two resources which address fundamental issues and arguments linked to abolition of the death penalty and alternative sanctions. They review current trends towards abolition and the practice of implementing alternative sanctions such as life and long-term imprisonment. Both packs highlight relevant international and regional human rights norms and standards, and include examples of best practice at the national level. They identify the most relevant issues required to be considered for effective criminal justice reforms which will lead to a human rights-oriented penal culture for those who commit the most serious crimes. The information packs establish two 12-point plans, directed at governments, on how to abolish the death penalty and how to implement alternative sanctions that respect international human rights norms and standards.
PRI has also published four training resources.
Protecting the rights of those facing the death penalty and life and long-term imprisonment targets key stakeholders in the criminal justice and penal systems, including inter alia judges, prosecutors, defence lawyers, prison officials and probation staff. The aim of this training resource is to build and strengthen knowledge and awareness on international human rights safeguards for those individuals facing a death penalty or life/long-term sentences. It covers international standards on the treatment of prisoners including vulnerable prisoners, fair trial standards, and best practices on rehabilitation of life and long-term prisoners.
Advocacy tools in the fight against the death penalty and alternative sanctions that respect international human rights standards targets NGOs, human rights activists and civil society organisations. The aim of this training resource is to build and strengthen the capacity of civil society to undertake efficient and effective advocacy and media strategies, and how to build and work with coalitions to strengthen advocacy work.
Reporting on the Death Penalty targets journalists. The aim of this training resource is to build and strengthen the knowledge of journalists and raise their awareness of how to report on the death penalty and alternative sanctions. This training resource has been developed in conjunction with PRI’s partner, Inter Press Services (IPS): http://ipsnews.net/deathpenaltyabolition/
Abolition of the death penalty in the Arab world: Effective strategies and available mechanisms - A procedural toolkit is a toolkit for civil society organisations working toward abolition of the death penalty in the Middle East and North African region (MENA). It is the only tool of its kind in the MENA region, and is published in Arabic and English.
All the above publications are available for download from this page. To order hard copies, please write to: publications@penalreform.org
Click to download these publications in French
Click to download these publications in Russian
Click to download these publications in Arabic
See below for the full list of English publications under the Death Penalty Abolition project.
