World Day Against the Death Penalty 2026: IBAHRI reiterates call for universal abolition
During the week in which the 24th World Day Against the Death Penalty was observed, the International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI) reiterated its call for universal abolition of the death penalty and ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR-OP2), which serves as an international commitment to this end. Pending this, the IBAHRI has called on all retentionist states to introduce an immediate moratorium on executions and to commute existing death sentences.
IBAHRI Co-Chair, Mark Stephens CBE, commented: ‘Capital punishment has no place in a justice system grounded in human rights and the rule of law. It is irreversible, inherently cruel and vulnerable to arbitrary and discriminatory application. We call on states to reject the use of the death penalty, halt executions and commute all existing death sentences.’
Held annually on 10 October, the World Day against the Death Penalty is organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, of which the IBAHRI is a member. This year, the Day was dedicated to the stories of those affected by the death penalty, including persons sentenced to death, their families, law enforcement, prison officials and legal professionals. All of them have stories to tell.
Lawyers see first-hand the issues and limitations in their criminal justice systems that undermine access to justice and the right to a fair trial, particularly regarding the right to effective legal representation. Examples include lack of/restricted access to clients, inadequate time and facilities to prepare a defence, inequality of arms, insufficient legal aid systems and – in some cases – pressure and interference by the state. These are of particular concern in capital punishment cases.
On a personal level, as highlighted in Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe's Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rgihts' 2022 Background Paper on the role of lawyers in capital punishment cases, capital defence lawyers can face psychological trauma, stigma, harassment, and intimidation. Cross-cutting professional and personal challenges faced by lawyers serve as a reminder that the death penalty is imposed on human beings and that its consequences reach far beyond the courtroom.
Death penalty developments: Law, policy, and practice
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, 2025 saw a 78 per cent increase in executions worldwide, with 2,707 recorded cases. It should be noted that this is a conservative estimate due to the lack of official information from China, where executions are treated as a State secret, and Iran, where there is a lack of reporting by official sources. Further, almost half of all known executions (46 per cent) were for drug-related offences, recorded across five countries: China, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, and Singapore. As of 2025, over 25,500 people were on death row around the world.
IBAHRI Co-Chair, Hina Jilani, remarked: ‘The developments we observe globally are alarming. While some states are taking applauded steps towards abolition, others are expanding or seeking to restore the death penalty, often in response to insecurity or political unrest. Causes of violence and insecurity should not be addressed with more violence. We must continue to strive for a world where justice protects human life and dignity.’
On 4 December 2025, Burkina Faso introduced a draft bill to reinstate the death penalty for high treason, terrorism and espionage. On 6 December 2025, the Maldives broadened capital punishment to include drug related offences and, in March 2026, signalled plans to introduce a bill to enable executions, despite a moratorium being in place since 1954.
Between March and August 2026, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, Iran executed at least 56 people on national security-related charges amid a persistent lack of fair trial and due process guarantees, including at least 27 individuals in connection with the nationwide protests that started in December 2025. This took place during a period in which fair trial and due process guarantees in the country were persistently lacking.
On 30 March 2026, Israel adopted a ‘Death Penalty for Terrorists’ Law that allows for the imposition of the death penalty for certain convictions that apply primarily to Palestinian suspects and explicitly excludes Israeli citizens or residents in its application in the occupied West Bank. On 11 May 2026, Israel passed a law establishing a special military tribunal with the power to impose the death penalty to prosecute those suspected of participating in the attacks of 7 October 2023.
At the same time, some states have taken commendable steps towards and to uphold abolition in line with the global trend towards ending the use of capital punishment. On 10 December 2025, the Constitutional Court of Kyrgyzstan held that proposals to reintroduce the death penalty would violate the constitutional right to life and binding international obligations as a State party to ICCPR-OP2. In Lebanon, the Parliament approved a bill to abolish the death penalty on 11 August 2026, which was promulgated by President Joseph Aoun on 17 August.
IBAHRI initiatives and activities
Over the past year, the IBAHRI has undertaken a range of initiatives to promote the abolition of the death penalty and, pending this, strict observance of the international legal limitations on its use.
In November 2025, the IBAHRI participated in the 5th Regional Congress Against the Death Penalty in Tokyo, which focused on East Asia. This included a workshop on legal representation in capital cases, which explored the challenges facing capital defence lawyers in East Asia and presented the Regional Guidelines for Lawyers Representing Individuals Facing the Death Penalty and Execution in Asia (KL Guidelines). The Guidelines are supplemented by an information hub that collates case briefs and legal analyses supporting effective defence strategies in death penalty cases across Asia.
As a follow-up, on 6 February 2026, the IBAHRI led a session on public advocacy impact plans as part of a three-day ‘Strategic Litigation Camp on the Death Penalty: Effective Defence for Capital Punishment Cases Using the KL Guidelines’ for young lawyers in Malaysia, organised by the Malaysian Centre for Constitutionalism and Human Rights.
In March 2026, the IBAHRI provided written input to the report of the UN Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions, which focused on the death penalty from the perspective of the prohibition against torture and other forms of ill-treatment and the protection of human dignity.
On 2 July 2026, the IBAHRI co-hosted a side event to the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris on ‘Mobilising bar associations and legal networks: exchanging experience and lessons learnt’ with the French National Bar Council and the Paris Bar Association. Lawyers from Cameroon, Malaysia, Morocco and the US shared insights and expertise on steps that bar associations can take to support effective legal representation in capital cases and death penalty abolition, as well as restrictions to criminal procedure in capital cases that weaken due process and procedural safeguards. The side event was co-sponsored by: Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto Rico; Geneva Bar Association; International Association of Lawyers - Institute for the Rule of Law (UIA-IROL); Law Council of Australia; Law Society of England and Wales; and the US National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
On 15 July 2026, the IBAHRI hosted a webinar ‘Towards qualified capital defence in Asia: introduction to the KL guidelines’. The event heard from lawyers from India, Indonesia, Japan and Malaysia on challenges and barriers to effective legal representation in Asia and how the KL Guidelines can be implemented by lawyers, legal aid bodies and bar associations. The webinar was supported by: the Commonwealth Lawyers Association; the IBA Asia Pacific Regional Forum; the IBA Criminal Law Committee; the IBA Forum for Barristers and Advocates; the IBA Human Rights Law Committee; and LAWASIA.
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Contact: IBAHRI@int-bar.org
Notes:
- Related items:
- World Day against the Death Penalty 2025: IBAHRI calls for universal abolition (10 October 2025)
- Saudi Arabia: Joint statement condemning the escalating use of the death penalty(10 October 2025)
- Democratic Republic of the Congo: Solidarity petition in favor of the abolition of the death penalty (7 November 2025)
- Israel: IBAHRI condemns death penalty bills (28 March 2026)
- Malawi: HRC61 joint statement during the interactive dialogue on the outcome of the UPR (April 2026)
- Myanmar: HRC61 joint statement during the interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar (April 2026)
- Israel: IBAHRI condemns law establishing a special military tribunal empowered to impose death penalty (17 June 2026)
- Iran: HRC62 joint statement during the interactive dialogue with the UN Special Rapporteur on independence of judges and lawyers (June 2026)
- Algeria: International appeal to maintain the moratorium on executions in Algeria(September 2026)
- The International Bar Association’s Human Rights Institute (IBAHRI), established in 1995 under Founding Honorary President Nelson Mandela, is an autonomous entity working to promote, protect and enforce human rights under a just rule of law, and to preserve the independence of the judiciary and the legal profession worldwide.
- Find the IBAHRI on social media here:
- The International Bar Association (IBA), the global voice of the legal profession, is the foremost organisation for international legal practitioners, bar associations and law societies. Established in 1947, shortly after the creation of the United Nations, with the aim of protecting and promoting the rule of law globally, the IBA was born out of the conviction that an organisation made up of the world's bar associations could contribute to global stability and peace through the administration of justice.
Website page link for this news release:
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Full link: www.ibanet.org/World-Day-against-the-Death-Penalty-2026-IBAHRI-reiterates-call-for-universal-abolition