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World Day17th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Children, Unseen Victims
On 10 October 2019, the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty aims at raising awareness on the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced to death or executed.
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Frequently forgotten, children of parents sentenced to death or executed carry a heavy emotional and psychological burden that can amount to the violation of their human rights.
This trauma can occur at any and all stages of the capital punishment of a parent: arrest, trial, sentencing, death row stays, execution dates, execution itself, and its aftermath. The repeated cycles of hope and disappointment that can accompany all of these stages can have a long-term impact, occasionally well into adulthood.
Stigmatization from the community in which they live and the loss of a parent at the hands of a state all reinforce deep instability in the child’s day to day life. In line with the 30th anniversary of the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (20 November 1989), the focus of this World Day is on children and their human rights.
Children: unseen victims of the death penalty
The death penalty in practice:
• 106 countries have abolished the death penalty for all crimes
• 8 countries have abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes
• 28 countries are abolitionist in practice
• 56 countries are retentionist
• 20 countries carried out executions in 2018
• In 2018, the top 10 executioners were China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Vietnam, Iraq, Egypt, USA, Japan, Pakistan and Singapore.
To know more about the death penalty...
... all over the world: read the facts & figures
... and the rights of the child whose a parent is under a death sentence: read the leaflet, the detailed factsheet and the briefing tools for practitioners
10 things you can do to end the death penalty (check the mobilization kit):
1. Organize a demonstration: a sit-in, a ‘die-in’, a flash mob. Include teddy bears and toys in your demonstration to represent the unseen victims of this World Day
2. Take action in a school or university to create awareness amongst similar age groups (invite a speaker or read testimonies to provoke discussion, etc)
3. Encourage people to draw images or write letters as if they were addressing children who have a parent who has been executed or sentenced to death. Publish them online using #nodeathpenalty
4. Organize a public debate and a movie screening with families of people sentenced to death, exonerees, their lawyers and experts
5. Organize an art exhibition (of art work made by people sentenced to death, of photographs of death row, of drawings or posters) or a theatre performance
6. Join the events prepared for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide
7. Donate to a group working to end the death penalty
8. Follow the social media campaign on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter: #nodeathpenalty (in the picture or video, display a teddy bear ora toy to represent the unseen victims of this World Day)
9. Mobilize the media to raise awareness on the issue of the death penalty
10. Participate in “Cities Against the Death Penalty/Cities for Life” on 30 November 2019.
Call for initiatives:
On 10 October 2019, take action against the death penalty!
Join hundreds of initiatives organized worldwide
Wherever you are
In Africa, America, Asia, Oceania or Europe
Whoever you are
NGOs, teachers, lawyers, local representatives, parliamentarians, artists, reporters, religious leaders, citizens
Whatever your plans are
Debates, concerts, press conferences, demonstrations, petitions, educational and cultural activities...
Get in touch with the World Coalition to tell us about events scheduled on October 10.
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World Day16th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Living conditions on death row
On 10 October 2018, the 16th World Day Against the Death Penalty aims at raising awareness on the inhumane living conditions of people sentenced to death.
Campaign published on June 10th, 2018 -
World Day15th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Poverty
On 10 October 2017, the 15th World Day Against the Death Penalty aims at raising awareness about the reasons why people living in poverty are at a greater risk of being sentenced to death and executed.
Campaign published on June 12th, 2017 -
World Day14th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Terrorism
On 10 October 2016, the 14th World Day Against the Death Penalty is raising awareness around the application of the death penalty for terrorism-related offences, to reduce its use.
Campaign published on June 10th, 2016 -
World Day13th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Drug Crimes
On 10 October 2015, the 13th World Day Against the Death Penalty is raising awareness around the application of the death penalty for drug-related offences, to reduce its use.
Campaign published on June 10th, 2015 -
World Day12th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Mental Health
On 10 October 2014, the 12th World Day Against the Death Penalty is drawing attention to people with mental health problems who are at risk of a death sentence or execution. While opposing the death penalty absolutely, abolitionists are also committed to see existing international human rights standards implemented. Among these is the requirement that persons with mental illness or intellectual disabilities should not face the death penalty.
Campaign published on May 21st, 2014 -
World Day11th World Day against the Death Penalty: Greater Caribbean
On 10 October 2013, the 11th World Day Against the Death Penalty is dedicated to the Greater Caribbean where few executions take place, but where a core of countries remain strongly opposed to abolition.
Campaign published on May 31st, 2013 -
World Day10th World Day against the Death Penalty
Significant progress to end the death penalty has been made over the past 10 years. Global momentum continues to build toward complete abolition, but work remains to be done to end capital punishment.
Campaign published on June 10th, 2012 -
World Day9th World Day Against the Death Penalty: the inhumanity of the death penalty
On 10 October 2011, the 9th World Day is to raise awareness on the inhumanity of the death penalty throughout the entire process, from sentence to execution.
Campaign published on June 10th, 2011 -
Congress7th World Congress - The rights of children of parents sentenced to death
This 10th October, the World Coalition will celebrate the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty, which is focused on the rights of children whose parents are sentenced to death or executed. Let’s look back at how this theme was discussed and addressed during the 7th World Congress.
Article by Louis Linel published on April 08th, 2019 -
VideoQuakers shed light on children of parents sentenced to death
Oliver Robertson is associate representative at the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva, a new World Coalition member. He explains his organisation’s recent research the fate of children whose parents have been sent to death row or executed and this issue’s potential to raise awareness on the wider implications of the death penalty.
Download the report on parents of children sentenced to death published by the Quaker United Nations Office
Video published on March 19th, 2013 -
World DayChild rights highlighted on the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty
10 October 2019 marked the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty. On this occasion, the abolitionist movement from all over the world came together to oppose the death penalty and shed a light on this year’s rarely discussed theme: children as unseen victims of the death penalty.
Article by Dinda Royhan, Majdoulin Sendadi published on November 25th, 2019 -
AdvocacyThe Rights of Children Whose Parents Are Sentenced to Death – The Case of Tunisia
I joined Bronwyn Dudley of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and Choukri Latif of the Coalition tunissiene contre la peine de mort (a Tunisian anti-death penalty NGO), to address the committee regarding Tunisia’s failure to implement the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced to death or were executed.
Article by Lisa Borden, volunteer with The Advocates for Human Rights published on October 30th, 2019 -
World DayJoint Statement on Malaysia
As we mark the 17th World Day against the Death Penalty, a year after the government of Malaysia announced the revision of the country’s laws to fully abolish the death penalty on 10 October
Article by World Coalition Against the Death Penalty published on October 10th, 2019
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- Keywords
- Juveniles
- Attached documents
- Facts and Figures 2019 | English |
- Poster - 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty | English |
- Detailed Factsheet 2019 | English |
- In Their Own Words | French |
- Mobilization Kit 2019 | English |
- Leaflet 2019 World Day | English |
- 2018 World Day - Report | English |
- Focus on
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World Day
17th World Day Against the Death Penalty: Children, Unseen Victims
On 10 October 2019, the 17th World Day Against the Death Penalty aims at raising awareness on the rights of children whose parents have been sentenced to death or executed.
