News
PRI Board Member Dirk van Zyl Smit to lead new global study on life sentences
PRI is delighted to hear that its Board Member Professor Dirk van Zyl Smit will be leading a new global study on life sentences. Professor van Zyl Smit is Professor of Comparative and International Penal Law in the School of Law at the University of Nottingham, which has been awarded a £222,000 grant for the project […]
News
On World Day Against the Death Penalty, PRI will launch a new study of public opinion on the death penalty in Belarus
The study found that nearly 64% of Belarusians support the death penalty, a number significantly down from the 80% who supported it in a 1996 referendum. There was also widespread support for alternative measures, with concerns about capital punishment ranging from belief in the sanctity of human life to fears about possible judicial error. The […]
Press release
Famous people in Tajikistan shared their opinions on the death penalty
World Day against the Death Penalty, October 10, was introduced by the World Coalition against the Death Penalty in 2003. There are many different events worldwide dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty. This year Penal Reform International in Central Asia asked famous and well-known people in Tajikistan their opinion about capital punishment and […]
Press release
Kazakhstani celebrities share their opinions on the death penalty
World Day against the Death Penalty, October 10, was introduced by the World Coalition against the Death Penalty in 2003. There are many different events worldwide dedicated to the abolition of the death penalty. This year Penal Reform International in Central Asia asked famous and well-known people in Kazakhstan their opinion about capital punishment and […]
News
How do we support children following exoneration or commutation of their parent’s death sentence?
PRI delivered a statement about children of parents sentenced to death at a United Nations panel on the issue on Wednesday 11 September 2013. The statement, one of five given by NGOs, focused on how children can be supported following exoneration or commutation of their parent’s death sentence. Oliver Robertson, PRI Project Manager for Death Penalty […]
News
PRI at the 24th Regular Session of the Human Rights Council – a look ahead
PRI will be engaging on two priority issues at the 24th Regular Session of the UN Human Rights Council which will open on 9 September in Geneva: the abolition of the death penalty and the human rights impact of the overuse of imprisonment. The session will run for three weeks and the agenda is packed, with over 40 resolutions […]
News
MPs visit London and Brussels for a study visit on abolishing the death penalty
Between 14 and 18 May, PRI, and project partner Foundation for Human Rights Initiative (FHRI), brought 14 parliamentarians to London and Brussels for a high-level study visit on the progressive abolition of the death penalty. The MPs were selected because they have demonstrated political leadership in promoting abolition of death penalty, criminal justice reforms or […]
News
Discussion paper: The Use and Practice of Imprisonment: Current Trends and Future Challenges
Last Friday (26 April 2013) at the 22nd Session of the UN Commission on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice in Vienna, PRI presented a discussion paper The Use and Practice of Imprisonment: Current Trends and Future Challenges at a side-event. Despite a night session of the Committee of the Whole on the Thursday evening, the side event […]
News
PRI at the 53rd Session of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights
PRI and other NGOs issued a joint statement at the 53rd Session of the African Commission. The statement called on all African Union states, while continuing to move towards full abolition of the death penalty, to take steps in law and practice to respect international standards that provide safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of […]
News
PRI at the IPU: Re-thinking drugs policies: lively debate among parliamentarians in Quito
At the Assembly of the Inter-Parliamentary Union in Quito, Ecuador, an interesting panel discussion is taking place on “The legalisation of drugs: Can it help curb organised crime?” The room is cramped with parliamentarians from the globe. Introduced by four expert panelists from Afghanistan, Serbia, Uruguay and Mexico, the debate seeks to break the taboo […]