International Commission against the Death Penalty

09/06/2026

Last week, the International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP) held its XXI Annual Meeting of Commissioners and General Assembly in Madrid — bringing together a record number of over 20 Commissioners and representatives from our 24 Support Group Member States from around the world.
Over two days at the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, our Commissioners reviewed ICDP's work, adopted the Action Plan for 2026–2027, and reaffirmed our shared commitment to the universal abolition of the death penalty.
The meetings were preceded by a Steering Committee meeting and complemented by high-level engagements with Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, the President of the Supreme Court María Isabel Perelló Doménech, and Secretary of State Diego Martínez Belío.
Spain also honoured ICDP with the prestigious Order of Isabel the Catholic — a recognition of our work and a powerful signal of continued support for abolition

The International Commission against the Death Penalty held its XXI Annual Meeting of Commissioners and related meetings between 31 May and 2 June 2026 in Madrid.

20/05/2026

Commissioner Marta Santos Pais was invited to deliver the keynote speech at the International Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Europe. The event took place at the end of April and was organised by the Directorate-General for Books, Archives and Libraries, within the framework of the initiative “Heritage of Hope: The Abolitionist Legacy in Europe.” The Conference was held alongside a multimedia exhibition on the abolitionist movement, open to the public until 30 August 2026.

Commissioner Marta Santos Pais was invited to deliver the keynote speech at the International Conference on the Abolition of the Death Penalty in Europe.

12/05/2026

ICDP held a high-level mission to Australia from 29 April to 1 May 2026 to participate in events focused on initiating efforts to establish the South Pacific as a region free of the death penalty. The ICDP delegation was led by Commissioners Helen Clark, former Prime Minister of New Zealand, and Tsakhia Elbegdorj, former President of Mongolia, who were accompanied by Co-Executive Directors Rajiv Narayan and Asunta Vivó Cavaller.

ICDP held a high-level mission to Australia from 29 April to 1 May 2026 to participate in events focused on initiating efforts to establish the South Pacific as a region free of the death penalty

30/04/2026

ICDP, represented by Commissioner Barbara Lochbihler, addressed the debate on the report “Towards the Universal Abolition of the Death Penalty in All Circumstances”, a resolution adopted by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) on 22 April 2026 in Strasbourg.

30/03/2026

The International Commission against the Death Penalty expresses its deepest concern over the Death Penalty for Terrorists Bill currently before the Knesset, the Parliament of Israel. The passage of this Bill would reinstate capital punishment and constitute a serious step backward from Israel’s longstanding position on the use of the death penalty, which was abolished for ordinary crimes in 1954, with no executions carried out since 1962. Over the past years, Israel has voted in favour of the United Nations General Assembly Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty.

The International Commission against the Death Penalty expresses its deepest concern over the Death Penalty for Terrorists Bill currently before the Knesset, the Parliament of Israel.

25/03/2026

The International Commission against the Death Penalty is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Isabelle Lonvis-Rome as its new Commissioner. Ms Lonvis-Rome´s distinguished career spans nearly four decades in the judiciary, government, and international diplomacy.

A graduate of France's prestigious École Nationale de la Magistrature, she entered the judiciary at the age of twenty-three — the youngest magistrate in France at the time. She served as a sentence enforcement judge, investigating magistrate, liberty and custody judge, and presided over the assize courts of Nanterre, Versailles, Pontoise, and Chartres. Her judicial career was marked above all by an unwavering commitment to the rights of victims and the most vulnerable: she was instrumental in establishing one of France's first domestic violence units within the Court of Appeal of Versailles, and as a technical adviser to the Minister of Justice she helped create access-to-justice points in prisons and launch a dedicated telephone assistance platform for victims. Her prolific scholarly output — encompassing multiple books on the judicial profession, incarceration, domestic violence, and the rights of women — has further cemented her standing as one of France's foremost legal voices on human rights.

The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP or Commission) is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Isabelle Lonvis-Rome as its new Commissioner.

25/03/2026

The International Commission against the Death Penalty is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Manuela Carmena as its new Commissioner.

Ms Carmena brings with her an extraordinary career devoted to justice and human rights spanning more than six decades of public life — one that has taken her from the front lines of resistance for rights-based democracy, to the judiciary, to the United Nations, and to the highest office of one of Europe's great capitals.

03/03/2026

The International Commission against the Death Penalty is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy as its new Commissioner.

The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP or Commission) is delighted to announce the appointment of Ms Radhika Coomaraswamy as its new Commissioner

13/01/2026

The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP) concluded a mission to the Kingdom of Morocco from 25 to 29 November 2025. The mission was led by Vice President Ruth Dreifuss and Commissioner Sylvie Kayitesi, and was accompanied by the ICDP Secretariat.

The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP) concluded a mission to the Kingdom of Morocco from 25 to 29 November 2025.

23/12/2025

The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP or Commission) warmly welcomes the decisive ruling issued by the Constitutional Court of the Kyrgyz Republic (Court) on 10 December 2025, Human Rights Day, which concluded “that reinstating the death penalty through a constitutional amendment is incompatible with the Constitution and is therefore impermissible and impossible.” According to the statement of the Court, the ruling was “based on the entirety of constitutional and international legal arguments.”

The International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP or Commission) warmly welcomes the decisive ruling issued by the Constitutional Court of the Kyrgyz Republic (Court) on 10 December 2025, Human Rights Day