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The Death Penalty for Drug Offences
- Thread starter HEISENBERG
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The death penalty for drug offences in 2020: a snapshot
- 35 countries retain the death penalty for a range of drug offences worldwide. In 2020, only three countries (China, Iran, and Saudi Arabia) were confirmed to have carried out executions for drug offences. It is likely that drug-related executions took place in Vietnam, but state secrecy prevents confirmation of this.
- At least 30 people were confirmed to have been executed for drug offences in 2020 - a 75% drop from 2019 and a 96% drop from 2015. This is by far the lowest recorded number since HRI started reporting on this issue in 2007.
- Saudi Arabia executed five people for drugs (compared with 84 in 2019). In early 2020, a moratorium on drug-related executions was imposed, which significantly impacted on the global decline in executions in 2020
- No one was executed in Singapore, for the first time since 2013.
- At least 10 countries sentenced a minimum of 213 people to death for drug offences in 2020 – more than in 2019.3 This increase was particularly significant in some countries, such as Indonesia, where at least 77 drug-related death sentences were imposed in 2020 (a 79% increase from 2019).
- At least 3,000 people are on death row for drug offences worldwide. High numbers of death sentences contribute to the growing number of people on death row.
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Sixth, seventh, and eighth UNGA resolution calling for a moratorium of the death penalty:
voting record of countries that retain the death penalty for drug offences (+ = in favour; - = against; abs = abstention)
2020 also saw significant civil society activism against the death penalty. With restrictions to in-person gatherings, efforts were concentrated online. One example is a petition launched by LBH Masyarakat on the case of Merri Utami, an Indonesian migrant worker who has spent over a decade on death row for being tricked into trafficking drugs. The petition, which asks Indonesian President Joko Widodo to grant Merri clemency, has garnered over 19,000 signatures at the time of writing. Notably, advocates repeatedly identified online public engagement as one key strategy for advocating against the death penalty, as explored in the special section at the end of the report. The significant reduction in drug-related executions is undoubtedly a positive development - an opportunity for countries to rethink the necessity and effectiveness of this policy, and for advocates to further intensify their calls for abolition. Nevertheless, there is more to the death penalty than executions themselves. In times of COVID-19, the operation of a justice system may make it difficult or near impossible to carry out executions, but it does not necessarily stop the imposition of the death penalty. Notably, at least ten countries sentenced a minimum of 213 people to death for drug offences in 2020 - a 16.3% increase from the 183 confirmed in 2019. This upward trend was particularly significant in some countries, such as Indonesia, where 77 people were sentenced to death for drug trafficking in 2020 (a 79% increase from 2019). Conversely, substantial numbers of death sentences contribute to the growing number of people on death row, where many have spent more than a decade. This unwavering reliance on the death penalty – even in times of exceptional challenges – is as troubling as the executions themselves.
It is essential to note that there remains a pervasive and systemic lack of transparency around the death penalty, which is in violation of clear inter-national standards. The issue of transparency was exacerbated in 2020, when collecting information about the use of the death penalty for drug offences was even more challenging than in previous years. This is likely due to COVID-19 dominating the news, restrictions imposed upon movement, and the shrinking of civil society space; all of which negatively impacted independent monitoring of the death penalty. At the same time, several UN human rights processes, such as country reviews by Treaty Bodies and country visits by Special Procedures, came to a halt or were delayed, resulting in an even lower number of available resources to track the application of the death penalty. This signals a pressing need for monitoring processes to resume, to ensure that violations and trends are documented and addressed. Well-integrated human rights monitoring and documentation should become an essential component to prevent further and future violations of human rights. Finally, 2020 also witnessed the regression of some countries, with plans to apply harsher punishment to drug offences. For example, the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has continued pushing to reintroduce the death penalty as part of his ‘war on drugs’. At the time of writing, a bill that would re-impose the death penalty has been adopted in the lower house of Congress, and is due to be discussed in the Senate.
voting record of countries that retain the death penalty for drug offences (+ = in favour; - = against; abs = abstention)
| 2016 | 2018 | 2020 | Minimum confirmed death sentences for drug offences, 2020 | |
| Bahrain | abs | - | - | |
| Bangladesh | - | - | - | |
| Brunei Darussalam | - | - | - | |
| China | - | - | - | ? |
| Cuba | abs | abs | abs | |
| Egypt | - | - | - | |
| India | - | - | - | |
| Indonesia | abs | abs | abs | 77 |
| Iran | - | - | - | ? |
| Iraq | - | - | - | |
| Jordan | abs | abs | + | |
| Kuwait | - | - | - | |
| Lao PDR | abs | abs | abs | 13 |
| Libya | - | + | - | |
| Malaysia | - | + | + | 25 |
| Myanmar | abs | abs | abs | |
| North Korea | - | - | - | |
| Oman | - | - | - | |
| Pakistan | - | + | - | |
| Qatar | - | - | - | |
| Saudi Arabia | - | - | - | ? |
| Singapore | - | - | - | 6 |
| South Korea | abs | abs | + | |
| South Sudan | + | abs | abs | |
| Sri Lanka | + | + | + | 5 |
| State of Palestine | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Sudan | - | - | - | |
| Syria | - | - | - | |
| Taiwan | n/a | n/a | n/a | |
| Thailand | abs | abs | abs | 8 |
| United Arab Emirates | abs | abs | abs | |
| USA | - | - | - | |
| Vietnam | abs | abs | abs | 79 |
| Yemen | - | - | abs |
2020 also saw significant civil society activism against the death penalty. With restrictions to in-person gatherings, efforts were concentrated online. One example is a petition launched by LBH Masyarakat on the case of Merri Utami, an Indonesian migrant worker who has spent over a decade on death row for being tricked into trafficking drugs. The petition, which asks Indonesian President Joko Widodo to grant Merri clemency, has garnered over 19,000 signatures at the time of writing. Notably, advocates repeatedly identified online public engagement as one key strategy for advocating against the death penalty, as explored in the special section at the end of the report. The significant reduction in drug-related executions is undoubtedly a positive development - an opportunity for countries to rethink the necessity and effectiveness of this policy, and for advocates to further intensify their calls for abolition. Nevertheless, there is more to the death penalty than executions themselves. In times of COVID-19, the operation of a justice system may make it difficult or near impossible to carry out executions, but it does not necessarily stop the imposition of the death penalty. Notably, at least ten countries sentenced a minimum of 213 people to death for drug offences in 2020 - a 16.3% increase from the 183 confirmed in 2019. This upward trend was particularly significant in some countries, such as Indonesia, where 77 people were sentenced to death for drug trafficking in 2020 (a 79% increase from 2019). Conversely, substantial numbers of death sentences contribute to the growing number of people on death row, where many have spent more than a decade. This unwavering reliance on the death penalty – even in times of exceptional challenges – is as troubling as the executions themselves.
It is essential to note that there remains a pervasive and systemic lack of transparency around the death penalty, which is in violation of clear inter-national standards. The issue of transparency was exacerbated in 2020, when collecting information about the use of the death penalty for drug offences was even more challenging than in previous years. This is likely due to COVID-19 dominating the news, restrictions imposed upon movement, and the shrinking of civil society space; all of which negatively impacted independent monitoring of the death penalty. At the same time, several UN human rights processes, such as country reviews by Treaty Bodies and country visits by Special Procedures, came to a halt or were delayed, resulting in an even lower number of available resources to track the application of the death penalty. This signals a pressing need for monitoring processes to resume, to ensure that violations and trends are documented and addressed. Well-integrated human rights monitoring and documentation should become an essential component to prevent further and future violations of human rights. Finally, 2020 also witnessed the regression of some countries, with plans to apply harsher punishment to drug offences. For example, the Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has continued pushing to reintroduce the death penalty as part of his ‘war on drugs’. At the time of writing, a bill that would re-impose the death penalty has been adopted in the lower house of Congress, and is due to be discussed in the Senate.
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For the production and distribution of drugs in the UK, Greece, Australia (New South Wales), the penalty is up to life imprisonment.
The legislation of a number of countries still punishes the very use of drugs. These are France (imprisonment for a period of 2 months to a year and a fine of 500 to 5000 francs), Greece (from 2 to 5 years), Australia (2 years and / or a fine of 2000 dollars) and Switzerland (from 1 day to 3 months or a fine).
The legislation of a number of countries still punishes the very use of drugs. These are France (imprisonment for a period of 2 months to a year and a fine of 500 to 5000 francs), Greece (from 2 to 5 years), Australia (2 years and / or a fine of 2000 dollars) and Switzerland (from 1 day to 3 months or a fine).
