Speaking out Against the Death Penalty

European Union countries aren't known to speak with one voice on a great deal of topics. National governments often put forward their particular interests in economic, foreign policy and security matters.

So it's a rare sight to see the EU countries vote on an issue as a block. But that's exactly what they did on Thursday. The issue that united them was capital punishment.

The UN Commission on Human Rights called for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty. 25 of the 53 countries represented in the Commission voted in favor of the resolution – among them Germany and all other EU members.

The resolution on capital punishment was submitted by the European Union. It urges all states to place a moratorium on the death penalty and - in the longer term - to abolish this form of punishment.

The text specifically emphasizes that countries with the death penalty not impose it for crimes committed by people under 18 years of age or by people suffering from mental disorders. Nor should capital punishment be imposed for "financial crimes, non-violent religious practice or expression of conscience and sexual relations between consenting adults", the resolution said.

Most Western member states of the UN Human Rights Commission approved the resolution. Russia joined the West in voting yes. Japan, however, sided with countries including Algeria, China, Nigeria, Pakistan and Saudi Arabia in voting no.

US opposition to death penalty growing more vocal

This year wasn't the first time the UN Human Rights Commission dealt with the death penalty at its annual meetings. In fact, the UN body has put forth a motion to abolish the death penalty for the sixth consecutive year.

But this year the resolution comes at a time when opponents of capital punishment are getting more vocal – especially in the United States, where 38 states have death penalty laws on their books.

The American Bar Association, an organization representing legal professionals, has called for a national moratorium on executions. And a New York judge on Thursday said he was prepared to rule the federal death penalty unconstitutional. He has given U.S. Justice Department lawyers until May 15 to argue whether retaining capital punishment as a means of deterrence and retribution "can constitutionally justify the knowing execution of innocent persons."

The case has given new life to the debate about the death penalty in the United States.

Controversy with U.S. over capital punishment

When the UN Commission on Human Rights debated the death penalty at its previous meetings, the United States sided with a number of Arab, African and Asian states in voting against resolutions condemning capital punishment. But this year, the United States only had observer status in the UN body. The US was voted off the Commission a year ago and did not take the floor during Thursday's debate.

Capital punishment has been a contentious issue between Europe and the United States for years. On Friday, European Union justice ministers meeting in Luxembourg said they wanted to talk to the US about closer cooperation in fighting crime. But they underscored that the EU wants guarantees on capital punishment. No one would be extradited to the United States if he or she faced the death penalty there.

Senior U.S. officials have warned, however, that Washington is not prepared to issue blanket guarantees to the EU on the death penalty.