The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) strongly condemns the imposition of the death penalty  by the military tribunal in Myanmar. 

Civilians should not be made to stand trial by a military tribunal. A trial by a military tribunal at this  juncture reeks of political interference by the military junta which usurped the democratic  government of Myanmar earlier in the year. The imposition of the death penalty by a military tribunal  can only be interpreted as further attempts to intimidate and cowl political opponents to the junta. 

There are grave concerns that the military tribunal does not observe internationally recognized fair  trial processes. Apart from trials shrouded in secrecy, there are no avenues for those sentenced to  appeal the decision to an appropriate judicial body. The only avenue for appeal is through Senior  General, Min Aung Hlaing via the prison with no avenue for legal intervention by lawyers. The onerous  conditions and limited avenues for appeal cast further doubt on the legitimacy of the legal process  adopted by the military junta.  

Under international law, the death penalty can only be imposed for the most serious crime and the  right to a fair trial must be observed. In this instance, the 65 individuals sentenced have been denied  the right to a fair trial and there are substantial doubts on the legitimacy of the charges levelled against  them. If any crime was committed by any of the individuals, they should be trialled by a civilian court  not a military tribunal. 

ADPAN condemns these sentences and demands immediate retrial for those sentenced by a  competent and legitimate civilian court hearing, conducted in accordance with international fair trial  standards. In addition, ADPAN also calls for the allegations of extrajudicial killing involving State  security apparatuses by an independent and impartial tribunal. State sanctioned killing and the  imposition of the death penalty by the military junta in Myanmar must be halted immediately.

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) welcomes the latest United Nations General  Assembly vote for the global moratorium on the death penalty. With this vote, the world  moves ever closer to a consensus that rejects the death penalty with more member states in  favour of a global moratorium. 

ADPAN applauds the continued commitment for a global moratorium by states and  acknowledges the vote of support for the first time by South Korea, Djibouti, and Lebanon. It  is regrettable that countries in the Asia region continue to be the most resistant to the  adoption of the global trend towards total abolition of the death penalty. 

The death penalty has no place in any modern criminal justice system as it has consistently  failed to deliver justice, and proven time and time again to be flawed, discriminatory and  ineffective both as punitive and deterrent measures. ADPAN calls for countries that continue  to implement the death penalty to take proactive action to review the practice in their  respective jurisdictions and join the clear global trend towards abolition of the death penalty.

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) welcomes the recent development in the United  Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs on 2 December 2020 where marijuana and its derivative  were removed from Schedule IV of the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs. 

The removal of marijuana from the strictest control schedule reflects the shifting trends and  modern understanding of the use of marijuana as part of medical therapy and recreational use  across the globe. With this change at the global level, nation states must consider this  development to take positive steps to review, implement or when appropriate, expedite changes  to the legal status of marijuana within their own jurisdictions. 

ADPAN calls for all Asia-Pacific states to immediately take heed of the development and  implement the necessary legal measures and reform to reflect the change in policy at the global  level. Countries where drug laws carry the death penalty for possession or trafficking of  marijuana must immediately implement a moratorium on executions and ensure individuals on  death row whose cases involve marijuana possession or trafficking are not executed pending the  adoption of the new classification for marijuana globally and domestically.  

The death penalty has been proven to be an ineffective deterrent in addressing crimes and should  not hold a place in any modern criminal justice system. Rehabilitation and harm reduction must  be the key foundations of any policies on crime. 

On the 18th World Day Against the Death Penalty, the undersigned seven organizations express their concern at proposed legislative  measures that would reintroduce the death penalty in the Philippines and call on its Congress to uphold the country’s international  law obligations and oppose the adoption of draft legislation to this aim. 

10 October marks the World Day Against the Death Penalty, a global day of action which sees actors from all walks of life and many  countries join together to say no to the death penalty. On this occasion, civil society organizations from the Philippines and  internationally share their alarm at the 24 draft laws which are currently pending before Committees of the House of Representatives  and of the Senate of the Philippines. These laws aim to reintroduce the death penalty as the punishment for several offences  including murder, rape, drug trafficking, plunder and kidnapping. The adoption of any such laws would violate the country’s  obligations under international human rights law. 

Following the abolition of the death penalty for the second time in 2006, on 20 November 2007 the Philippines ratified the Second  Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights that categorically prohibits executions and commits the  country to the abolition of this punishment. These obligations cannot be withdrawn at any time. In the words of the UN Human  Rights Committee, abolition of the death penalty is “legally irrevocable.” Furthermore, the UN Human Rights Committee has  concluded that States parties may not transform an offence, which upon ratification of the Covenant, or at any time thereafter, did  not entail the death penalty, into a capital offence.1 

It is of further concern that the bill proposes to reintroduce the death penalty for offences, such as drug trafficking, that do not meet  the threshold of the “most serious crimes”, to which the use of the death penalty must be restricted under international law in  countries that are yet to abolish it;2 and as a mandatory punishment which, as noted by the UN Human Rights Committee, “leave[s] domestic courts with no discretion on whether or not to designate the offence as a crime entailing the death penalty, and on whether  or not to issue the death sentence in the particular circumstances of the offender, [and] are arbitrary in nature.”3 

We are further alarmed that the continuous pursuit of the death penalty in the Philippines also risks undermining the ability of  country representatives abroad to effectively advocate for the commutation of the death sentences imposed on Filipino nationals  abroad, such as overseas workers. The legal assistance and political pressure that the authorities of the Philippines have provided to  those facing this punishment in other countries has undoubtedly contributed to the protection of their rights, including the right to a  fair trial, and could become ineffective if moves were made to re-introduce this penalty back home. 

The move to reintroduce the death penalty would set the Philippines starkly against the global trend towards abolition. As of today,  142 countries have abolished the death penalty in law or practice and several other governments are taking steps to repeal this  punishment from their national laws. 

We oppose the death penalty in all cases and under any circumstances as a violation of the right to life, recognized by the Universal  Declaration on Human Rights; and as the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. The reasons countries abolish the  death penalty are many and include the fact that the death penalty invariably disproportionately affects those from disadvantaged socio-economic backgrounds; that society and the state are seriously harmed and brutalised by descending to the act of killing  prisoners; and that there is no evidence that this punishment has a unique deterrent effect. Statistics from countries that have  abolished the death penalty show that the absence of the death penalty has not resulted in an increase in the crimes previously  subject to capital punishment, while evidence shows that punitive drug policies have little influence on the prevalence of drug use,  or on drug-related crime. 

Today, as abolitionist advocates from around the world join forces to raise awareness against the death penalty, we renew our call on  the members of the Congress of the Philippines to ensure its international commitments are respected and to reject legislative  measures to reintroduce the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment. 

This statement is co-signed by: 

• ADPAN – Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network 
• Amnesty International 
• CAAPR – Colegio de Abogados y Abogadas de Puerto Rico 
• Capital Punishment Justice Project 
• FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights 
• Harm Reduction International 
• MADPET – Malaysians Against Death Penalty & Torture

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN) is alarmed by the recent death row statistics provided  by various sources in Singapore.  

We understand that the current population on death row stands at 55 people, with the majority of  the inmates on death row due to drug related offences. Based on case tracking and information  gathered from various sources by abolitionists in Singapore, it is estimated that about 20 inmates have  exhausted all legal options. This implies that there could be a spike in executions in Singapore in the  coming weeks or months. At present, we are aware that at least two executions have been scheduled  – Syed Suhail Bin Syed Zin (originally on Friday, 18 September 2020) and Moad Fadzir bin Mustaffa 

(Thursday 24 September 2020). Syed Suhail was granted a temporary stay of execution after human  rights lawyer M Ravi filed a judicial review against his sentence on Wednesday 16 September 2020.  

ADPAN urges the Singapore government to immediately: 

1. Impose an immediate moratorium on all executions with a view to abolishing capital  punishment
   
   There is no evidence that the use of the death penalty acts as an effective deterrent against  crimes. Furthermore the sentence, once carried out, is irreversible. Law and order institutions  are not infallible to mistakes and human error; the finality of the death penalty carries the risk  of grave injustice when innocents are executed. We cite the case of Ilechukwu Uchechukwu  Chukwudi, a Nigerian, who was acquitted of a capital drug trafficking against him on 17  September 2020 in Singapore after it was proven that his statements were recorded when he  was suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Had his legal team not persisted,  Ilechukwu who was arrested in 2011 and sentenced to death in 2015, could have been unjustly  executed.  

2. Review the current methodology on the war on drugs
   
   The majority of cases on death row in Singapore are for drug related offences; comprised of  individuals mainly from lower socio-economic backgrounds. Some of them, like Syed Suhail,  also struggled with addiction before their incarceration despite being “treated” by the Drug  Rehabilitation Center (DRC) when they were previously arrested for possession and/ or  consumption of prohibited drugs. It is time Singapore employs a holistic and sustainable solution to the issue of drug addiction by treating it as a matter of public health wherein  anyone struggling with drug addiction will be treated and supported instead of being  incarcerated and then stigmatized.  

3. Grant public access to information of cases and real time statistics beyond legal  documents on Courts’ websites and annual prison statistics 
   
   Due to the lack of transparency and the existence of the Officials Secrets Act which  criminalises the dissemination of information from prison workers, abolitionist groups  campaigning against the death penalty in Singapore can only rely on information provided by  family members of inmates, lawyers, and documents of legal proceedings on the Court’s  website, as well as whatever little news reports that shed light on capital cases. Together with  our abolitionist colleagues in Singapore, we call upon the government to make good their  commitment during the 2011 Universal Periodic Review process to make information about  the use of the death penalty publicly and easily available, i.e., lift the secrecy on executions,  grant public access to information of cases, as well as provide real time statistics on the death  row in Singapore.  

Lastly, we recognize that campaigning in a country with tough laws against freedom of expression and  assembly as well as very little resources and public support is an uphill task, and we would like to  express our strongest solidarity with our fellow abolitionists in Singapore. 

Each year on 30 August, the International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances  commemorates those who are missing as a consequence of enforced disappearance. The effects of  enforced disappearance do not only affect close relatives of the disappeared, but also the  disappeared person’s community, nation and society as a whole. Today, we recognise and  remember the hundreds of thousands of people who have vanished in at least 85 countries, and the  millions who have been impacted by disappearances.  

ADPAN has joined 12 human rights groups shining the spotlight on Bangladesh, where it is estimated  at least 572 people have been reported forcibly disappeared by security forces and law-enforcement  agencies in Bangladesh since 2009. 

Full statement:  https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/08/28/bangladesh-end-enforced-disappearances 

ADPAN stands in solidarity with the victims of enforced disappearances and celebrates the  achievements of activists and organisations who work to bring these issues to light. 

The Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), who advocates the abolition of the death  penalty, is appalled by the anti-human rights position taken by the Philippines President who  is trying to reimpose the death penalty. In his State of the National Address (SONA) on 27 July  2020, President Duterte’s called for the reimposition of the death penalty in the Philippines  for drug-related offences. In his address, President Duterte expressed support for “the swift  passage of a law reviving the death penalty by lethal injection for crimes specified under the  Comprehensive Dangerous[Drugs] Act of 2002.” He added that this change will “not only help  us deter criminality but also save our children from the dangers posed by illegal and  dangerous drugs”.  

Since the beginning of his administration in 2016, President Duterte has waged a damaging  campaign against drugs, which resulted in extra-judicial killings and a denial of the  fundamental right to a fair trial. An estimated 5,600 people have died in this ‘drug war’;  however, some organisations estimate that the number of deaths could exceed 27,000.  Despite widespread condemnation from both local groups and the international community,  the comments made during the SONA reflect President Duterte’s relentless attempts to  undermine fundamental human rights.  

Reinstating the death penalty in the Philippines counters a clear global trend towards  abolition of the death penalty; to date 142 countries – more than two thirds of the worlds’  countries – have abolished the death penalty in law or practice. Further, the statements  expressed are in contravention to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant  on Civil and Political Rights, to which the Philippines is a signatory. The re-emergence of  support for reinstating the death penalty symbolises a concerning disregard for the  Philippine’s international legal obligations. 

During the reintroduction of the death penalty in the Philippines in the 1990s, the Republic  Act 8177 was passed, prescribing the use of lethal injection as the method of implementing  capital punishment. In 1999, the first Filipino to be meted by this reinstatement was Leo  Echegaray. Echegaray maintained his innocence and was denied an appeal for his conviction.  His final words were reported to be “Sambayanang Pilipino, patawarin ako sa kasalanang  ipinaratang ninyo sa akin. Pilipino, pinatay ng kapwa Pilipino” (People of the Philippines,  forgive me of the sin which you have accused me. A Filipino, killed by fellow Filipinos). In 2006,  then Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban disclosed that the case against Echegaray had a fatally  defective rape charge sheet and indicated that Echegaray’s execution was a mistake; that  same year, the Philippines abolished the death penalty. A return to the death penalty in the  

Philippines may repeat such miscarriages of justice where an innocent person may be wrongly  executed by the State. 

ADPAN calls on both President Duterte and the Philippines parliament to restrain from the promotion and re-introduction of the death penalty which would be a subversion of  international human rights law. The notion that the death penalty is an effective deterrent to  committing drug offending has not been supported by empirical evidence. Rather, ADPAN  encourages President Duterte and the Philippines parliament to support humane, voluntary  and evidence-based policies around crime and drug policy, consistent with the exercise of its  sovereign powers and human rights standards.