Norway concerned over death penalty

Protest against death penalty Yesterday 

 - Pic by Shehan Gunasekara

Norway yesterday said it is deeply concerned that Sri Lanka intends to implement the death penalty, which would put an end to Sri Lanka’s 43-year moratorium on the use of this cruel and irreversible punishment. 

The full statement is given below. 

As recently as December 2018, Sri Lanka was one of 120 countries that voted in favour of a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. The vote was a tangible sign of the global trend to move away from the use of the death penalty.

Implementation of the death penalty would negatively affect Sri Lanka’s international reputation and its human rights record.

Norway strongly opposes all use of the death penalty as a matter of principle. We believe that states have a duty to protect the safety, well-being and human rights of all their citizens.

We have communicated our position and raised our concerns regarding this issue at the highest levels of the Sri Lankan Government, and we urge Sri Lanka to refrain from reinstating the death penalty.