54th session of the General Assembly of the United Nations

Address by the Minister for Foreign Affairs Tarja Halonen at the 54. UN General Assembly

Address by the President of the Council of the European Union

H.E. Ms. Tarja HALONEN

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland

New York, 21 September 1999

[...] The EU is committed to opposing the death penalty. We call on all those States that still impose the death penalty to progressively restrict the offences for which it may be used and insists that it be carried out according to minimum standards. As a first step, a moratorium on executions should be established. The final aim must remain a complete abolition of the death penalty. The EU will actively pursue this matter in this session. [...]