ECPM Together Against the Death Penalty ACTIVITY REPORT 2016 CONTENTS
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ACTIVITY REPORT 2016 ECPM TOGetHER AGAINST THE DEATH peNALTY ACTIVITY REPORT 2016 CONTENTS EditoriaL 3 Strengthened international action in 2016 3 ECPM acts everywhere in the world 3 RESULTS 4 ECPM’s Main Activities on the Ground in 2016 4 UnitinG 5 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty 5 www.ecpm.org En route towards the 7th World Congress 7 StrenGTHENING 8 Taking Action in a Changing Arab World 8 The key moments of 2016 9 Summary of the Morocco project 9 Supporting Parliamentarians from French-Speaking Sub-Saharan Africa 10 Developing the Abolitionist Movement in South East Asia 10 AdvocatinG 11 Diplomacy and Advocacy 11 Iran Under Constant Surveillance 11 ECPM’s Work at the United Nations 12 Campaign for a Moratorium 12 NHRIs: Emerging Actors 12 Responding urgently to a death sentence 12 and supporting abolition activists 12 Justice and Prison 12 EDUcatinG 13 Teaching citizens about human rights and abolition of the death penalty 13 Meeting French young people 13 The volunteer group moves into action! 14 Fundraising contact: : Ariane Grésillon Teaching beyond our borders 14 Email : [email protected] They work with ECPM 14 VOLUnteerS 15 Director: Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan Email : [email protected] Take action with Ecpm against the death penalty and discrimination 15 69, rue Michelet COMMUnication tooLS 16 93100 Montreuil - France ECPM promotion 16 Tel. : +33 1 57 63 03 57 Communication to serve advocacy 16 Fax : +33 1 80 87 70 46 Email : [email protected] THE ORGANISation 17 Developing the structure, functioning www.ecpm.org and management of the organisation 17 @AssoECPM Analysis of funding (estimate) 17 #AbolitionNow An organisation working for abolition and abolitionist actors 18 © ECPM2017 ECPM’s Founding Values 18 Networks of which ECPM is a member 18 photos : ©Christophe Meireis Governance 18 page 17 : ©Yuliya Vassilyeva PartnerS 19 ECPM 2 ACTIVITY REPORT 2016 ACTIVITY REPORT 2016 CONTENTS EDITORIAL Strengthened international action in 2016 More than ever before, ECPM remains the global spearhead in the fight for universal abolition of the death penalty on all fronts and in all places. Once again, at the Oslo World Congress Against the Death Penalty in June 2016 we brought together 1,500 influencers and decision-makers from 121 different countries who prepared the future of the struggle against capital punishment. The World Congress brought together abolitionists from across the world: activists, magistrates, par- liamentarians, diplomats and members of governments. This year, we obtained ECOSOC status which provides us with highly official accreditation at the UN Economic and Social Council. We are committed to bringing the voice of abolitionists to this leading diplomatic arena and, in particular, the voices of all the NGOs with which we work day-to-day. Once again, emphasis has been put on parliamentary mobilisation, particularly at our Regional Conference of Parliamentarians Against the Death Penalty held in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, where we shook things up and established the elements conducive to achieving abolition in that country and the entire French-speaking region of sub-Saharan Africa. We will follow developments in the region over the next few months. 2016 was also an opportunity for significant mobilisation by the international community (inter-governmental organ- isations, States, diplomats, public opinion) around some alarming situations: Narges Mohammadi, a human rights activist in Iran; Ali Al-Nimr, a young Shiite sentenced to death in Saudi Arabia; the alarming situation in the Maldives and Turkey; the numerous executions in Gaza; and Ali Zulfiqar, a Pakistani national sentenced to death in Indonesia and taken off the list of executions at the last minute on 29 July 2016. Finally, in 2016 France celebrated 35 years of abolition and ECPM was determined to develop educational projects in France and overseas. The participation of thousands of young people from 12 countries (including Pakistan, Taiwan, Morocco, Tunisia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso, Lebanon, etc.) is, in itself, an immense success. Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan, Director ECPM ACTS everyWHlaERE peine IN T deHE mortWORLD dans le monde 2016 USA ECPM 3 ACTIVITY REPORT 2016 RES ULTS ECPM’s Main Activities on the Ground in 2016 January FRANCE The “Death Penalty and Terrorism” school presentation with Sabine Atlaoui and terrorism victims from AfVT (French organisation for victims of terrorism) February MOROCCO National Congress of the Network of Lawyers Against the Death Penalty FRANCE Class writing workshops led by journalists March IRAN 8th annual report on the death penalty in Iran in partnership with IHR FRANCE School presentations with a former death row prisoner and Sandrine Ageorges-Skinner, wife of a prisoner sentenced to death April FRANCE Launch of the National Assembly “Universal abolition of the death penalty” research group co-chaired by Georges Fenech and Alain Touret MOROCCO First abolition film festival in Rabat May UN Achievement of Ecosoc status allowing ECPM to advocate at the UN June NORWAY / INTERNATIONAL 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty July FRANCE “The death penalty is homophobic” campaign at the Pride March MAURITANIA Discussion workshop: “Penal justice and the right to life” in Nouakchott MOROCCO Initiation of the General Assembly of the Moroccan Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the “Islam and the death penalty” workshop INDONESIA Support for Ali Zulfiqar, a Pakistani national sentenced to death in Indonesia. Ali was taken off the list of imminent executions in extremis September UN Participation in and speech at the UN General Assembly in New York CAMEROON First national conference on abolition of the death penalty FRANCE Attendance at the Fête de l’Humanité MOROCCO “Sentenced to die” comic by Cédric Liano and Gildas Gamy October INTERNATIONAL Launch of the “Draw Me Abolition” poster competition TUNISIA Film festival for abolition of the death penalty FRANCE 10th World Day Against the Death Penalty Conference with Robert Badinter to celebrate 35 years of abolition in France School presentations with two people previously sentenced to death MOROCCO Public debate on the UN resolution for a moratorium on executions Regional conference on abolition of the death penalty December BURKINA FASO Regional parliamentary seminar on the death penalty in French-speaking sub- Saharan Africa FRANCE School presentations with the Lyon Bar Association and Sabine Atlaoui UN Campaign in support of the Resolution for a moratorium on executions at the UN General Assembly in New York ECPM 4 ACTIVITY REPORT 2016 UNITING ECPM’s position on the international stage and its founding mission – to bring together abolitionists to improve efficiency – give it a veritable advantage in coordinating joint initiatives in support of abolition. ECPM unites civil society at the World Congresses and through coalitions against the death penalty, and is, today, the preferred partner of States and parliamentarians for carrying out effective advocacy against capital punishment. 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty For the abolitionist community, the highlight of 2016 was the 6th World Congress Against the Death Penalty held in Oslo, Norway. The extremely positive approach which has defined our Congresses from the beginning did not disappoint this time around, making this event more global and professional than ever. The Congress, organised in partnership with the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and sponsored by Norway, France and Australia, benefited from the participation of very senior politicians. The following individuals took part: Mr Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Mr Stavros Lambrinidis, EU Special Representative for Human Rights 18 ministers, deputy ministers and secretaries of State, from both retentionist and abolitionist States 51 ambassadors 24 parliamentarians In total, 221 representatives from 66 different States took part in the Oslo Congress. Mr Robert Badinter, harbinger of abolition in France and ECPM’s Honorary President, was among us. Two members of the Tunisian quartet which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2015 attended and Pope François, the President of Mongolia and two Nobel Peace Prize winners (Mr José Ramos-Horta and Archbishop Desmond Tutu) were virtually present via their video message. There had never been such prestigious political representation. ECPM 5 ACTIVITY REPORT 2016 UN ITING Congress visitor numbers were also just as gratifying with 1,356 participants from 121 different countries regis- tered. Many of them made use of the networking tools provided: aware of the importance of the relational side of the Congress, we provided a directory of the contact details of all those participants who wanted to be included to everyone registered and, above all, we organised new opportunities for socialising in the form of Speed Dating in order to encourage networking. However, the heart of the Congress remained collective thought, the exchange of information and the development of a joint strategy for the abolitionist movement. Everyone could take part in various debates, including the two plenary sessions, six roundtables and six workshops organised over two and a half days. These discussions were led by 69 speakers, including leading world specialists on their subject. This Congress focused on Asia – coming as it did just after the Regional Congress Against the Death Penalty held in Kuala Lumpur in 2015 – and National Human Rights Institutions, identified as the new targets of