DUSHANBE, July 17, Asia-Plus – Ms. Maria Louisa Baskur (phonetically spelled), consultant of International Helsinki Federation fro human Rights (IHF) presenting a project for coordinated civil society campaign to abolish death penalty in Central Asia’s states at the conference entitled “Tajikistan: from Moratorium to Abolition of Death Penalty” noted that the main objective of the project was in promoting political and social support for the full abolition of the death penalty in the Central Asian region.
According to her, it is necessary to initiate discussions and form public opinion for this already today.
On the situation in various countries, Ms. Baskur noted that in those countries, where the death penalty was abolished, the crime situation showed tendency for improvement.
Mr. Taqdirsho Sharipov, senior lecturer at
Tajik
National
University
, telling the conference stressed that it was necessary to hold, first of all, a referendum on making amendments to the country’s Constitution because its text still had a norm such as “death penalty as capital punishment.”
Chairperson of the National Board of the Tajik Branch of Open Society Institute/Assistance Foundation (OSI/AF) Ms. Oinihol Bobonazarova expressed confidence that
Tajikistan
was already ready for abolition of the death penalty. “I have made a conclusion that judicial corps and the head of state are also ready to abolish the death capital in
Tajikistan
,” she said, calling to hold another such conference in
Dushanbe
, but with participation of senior representatives from president’s office, courts, clerics as well as representatives from those countries, where the death penalty was already abolished.
The conference is still ongoing.
The objective of the project for coordinated civil society campaign to abolish death penalty in
Central Asia
’s states is to raise awareness and encourage discussion of the death penalty as a human rights concern in
Kazakhstan
,
Kyrgyzstan
,
Tajikistan
and
Uzbekistan
, and to promote political and social support for the full abolition of the death penalty in these countries. The project seeks to build upon recent positive developments in the project region, including in particular the introduction of moratoria on the death penalty in
Kazakhstan
,
Kyrgyzstan
and
Tajikistan
. It will be implemented as a coordinated civil society campaign and will involve close cooperation between the IHF and local NGOs. Major project activities will include monitoring and reporting on death penalty related developments; awareness-raising and action campaigns to mobilize civil society and local communities for the abolition of the death penalty; a series of seminars and round-table meetings to stimulate debate about the death penalty within wide segments of society; national and international advocacy, legal assistance to people charged with crimes carrying the death penalty and monitoring of death row conditions.
