The Heads of Mission of the European Union (EU), EU Member States and Norway and Switzerland issue the following joint statement in Singapore:
The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland call on the Singapore authorities to halt the execution of Nagaenthran a/l K Dharmalingam, and to commute his sentence to a non-capital sentence.
The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland oppose the use of capital punishment, which can never be justified, and advocate for Singapore to adopt a moratorium on all executions as a positive first step towards its abolition.
Today, more than two thirds of the countries of the world have become abolitionist in law or practice, which confirms a global trend in favour of the abolition of the death penalty. No compelling evidence exists to show that the death penalty serves as a more efficient deterrent to crime than imprisonment. Moreover, rehabilitation as an objective of modern criminal law is frustrated by the application of capital punishment. Furthermore, any errors - inevitable in any legal system - are irreversible.
The EU Delegation and the diplomatic missions of the EU Member States and of Norway and Switzerland will continue to actively work to further the universal trend towards the eradication of the death penalty.