Radical Party

Rue Wiertz

1047 Brussels

Belgium

OFFICE OF THE MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS

DUBLIN 2

20 April 1998

Our Ref. POL980142

Dear Mr. Dupuis,

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. David Andrews T.D., has asked me to thank you for your letter of 6 March, 1998 and to reply to you on his behalf.

I would like to take this opportunity to underline the Irish Government's total opposition to the use of the death penalty. Ireland formally abolished the death penalty in 1990 (Criminal Justice Act 1990), although the last time the death penalty had been carried out in Ireland was in 1954. Ireland is a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and to Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, both of which provide for the abolition of the death penalty.

Ireland continues to use every suitable opportunity to press for the abolition of the death penalty world-wide, both within the UN and Council of Europe mechanisms, and worked closely with a number of other Governments in preparing the resolution on the abolition of the death penalty adopted by the Commission on Human Rights earlier this year.The UN Commission on Human Rights decided at its 53rd session to continue consideration of the issue at its 54th session, which commenced its deliberations on 16 March last in Geneva. Italy once again took the initiative in tabling the resolution on the question of the death penalty at this years session. Ireland was the first country to co-sponsor the Italian resolution this year, following a request to do so by the Italian delegation in recognition of our strong support for the resolution in previous years.

I appreciate your interest in this matter. You may rest assured that the Irish Government will continue to take an active role in advocating universal abolition of the death penalty.

Yours sincerely,

Conor O'Riordan

Private Secretary