EN Official Journal of the European Union CE 78/471

(2004/C 78 E/0495)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3140/03

by Koenraad Dillen (NI) to the Commission

(23 October 2003)

Subject: Death-penalty-related projects

Statements by senior Commission staff suggest that the European Commission is funding a number of projects in the United States and other countries that apply the death-penalty to raise public awareness of the death-penalty issue in retentionist countries. The statements were issued on World Day against the Death Penalty Friday 10 October. (Source: The European Weekly — New Europe, 12 October, p. 6 ‘Commission seeks abolishment of death penalty’).

Exactly what sorts of projects are involved?

How many of these projects have been launched in United States and in which states of the Union?

What is the overall cost of the projects? Is this the first year in which projects of this kind have been started?

Have similar projects been launched in Cuba and the People's Republic of China? In which countries other than the United States have such projects been set up?

Are these one-off projects or do they run for several years?

Answer given by Mr Patten on behalf of the Commission

(1 December 2003)

The Commission has been funding projects in view of abolition of the death penalty for a number of years. Providing funding for such projects was also re-affirmed as a priority in the Commission's Communication of 8 May 2001 on the Union's role in promoting human rights and democratisation in third countries (1). This Communication specifically indicates that: ‘Support for abolition of the death penalty should include projects intended to reduce its use, for example by promoting debates at government and civil society level on its ineffectiveness in reducing crime.’

The Community funding, provided under the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights, covers a wide range of areas such as awareness campaigns in countries where capital punishment is still practised and direct assistance to sentence of prisoners. A specific call for proposals on death penalty projects was launched in 2002. Following this call, projects amounting to a total of EUR 4 897 328 were selected.

Two of the projects selected under this call include activities in the United States:

— Capital Punishment activities, informing and supporting strategies to establish alternatives to the death penalty. This project aims to increase awareness of issues surrounding capital punishment and provide support to those engaged in the fight against it. Activities include the establishment of specialised databases to support lawyers engaged in capital litigation, particularly in the United States and the Caribbean, a lecture series on capital punishment, the setting up of a capital punishment studies library, research activities and public awareness raising actions.

— A study of How States' Death Penalty systems Comport with Minimum Standards designed to Protect Due Process and Fairness. The overall objective is to convince the 40 American jurisdictions that retain the death penalty to implement a moratorium on executions and to complete thorough, comprehensive studies of their death penalty systems.

The total number of running projects promoting the abolition of death penalty worldwide at present amounts to 13, with a maximum total Union contribution of EUR 8 136 217.

As concerns projects in China, one project pertaining to this country was selected under the 2002 call. The title of this project is: ‘Strengthening the defence of death penalty cases in the People's republic of China’. Defence and legal aid for defendants facing the death penalty are provided under this project.

There are currently no specific projects aiming at the abolition on the death penalty in Cuba.

Concerning the last question asked by the Honourable Member, the duration of such projects is usually between 24 and 36 months.

(1) COM(2001) 252.