Press Statement - BIC Participation in the 9th ECPM World Congress Against the Death Penalty
The Brussels International Center (BIC) reaffirms its unwavering opposition to the death penalty in all circumstances and its commitment to its global abolition. As a human rights-based organization, the BIC will participate in the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, organized by ECPM – Together Against the Death Penalty in Paris from 30 June to 2 July.
Engagement in this Congress is a key moment for dialogue and coordination among civil society actors, policymakers, and legal experts working toward the universal abolition of capital punishment. We hope it will provide an essential space to strengthen advocacy efforts and reinforce shared legal and ethical standards against the death penalty.
Despite ongoing global trends toward abolition, executions continue in several regions. The BIC remains particularly concerned by the situation in Iran, where the death penalty is applied at alarming rates, including against political dissidents and protesters, as well as by recent legislative developments in Israel introducing the possibility of capital punishment for Palestinian prisoners in the context of occupation, raising serious concerns under international humanitarian law and due process guarantees.
As a European-based organization operating within a legal framework in which the death penalty has been abolished and firmly rejected by the European Union, the BIC reiterates that universal abolition remains a core component of the protection of human rights and the right to life.
