Declaration by the Presidency on behalf of the EU on the
abolition of the death penalty in Uzbekistan
The EU welcomes the abolition of the death penalty in Uzbekistan on 1 January 2008. We
congratulate the Uzbek government and the Uzbek people on this important decision and
the EU encourages the Uzbek government to fully implement it and carry out further
reforms of the judicial system.
Members of the European Union consider that the abolition of capital punishment
contributes to the enhancement of human dignity. The European Union reaffirms its
objective of working towards universal abolition of the death penalty. It believes that
abolition by Uzbekistan is an important step towards that aim and hopes that this decision
will encourage other countries in the region to follow suit.
5022/08 (Presse 2) 2
The Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential
candidates Albania, Montenegro, Serbia, and the EFTA countries Liechtenstein and
Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova,
Armenia and Georgia align themselves with this declaration.
* Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the
Stabilisation and Association Process.