Secretary-General Welcomes Malaysia’s Decision to End Death Penalty as Major Step towards Universal Abolition

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

The Secretary-General welcomes the decision of the Malaysian Cabinet to seek abolition of the death penalty in the country.  This decision was taken as we commemorated the World Day against the Death Penalty on 10 October.

The Secretary-General commends this decision as a major step forward in a global movement towards the universal abolition of the death penalty.

The Secretary-General seizes this opportunity to call on all countries which still retain it to follow the encouraging example of Malaysia.