The Second World Congress Against the Death Penalty will be held in Montreal from October 6 to 9, but organizers were at U of T this week to drum up support and invite students along.
The congress will be attended by advocates from around the globe for the abolition of the death penalty. The first congress was held in June 2001 in Strasbourg, France, and lead to the creation of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. It also designated October 6 as World Day Against the Death Penalty. Both Congresses were organized by Ensemble Contre la Peine de Mort (ECPM) and Penal Reform International (PRI).
To raise awareness of the upcoming congress in Toronto, a panel discussion on the death penalty was held at Hart House last Friday, and was organized by the U of T chapter of ECPM. The discussion was led by the Toronto delegation to Montreal which included Tracy Lamourie and David Parkinson, co-directors of the Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty (CCADP), Dr. Carolyn Strange, Professor of Criminology at U of T, Kent Roach, Professor of Law at U of T, Ben Peterson, Director and co-founder of Journalists for Human Rights (JHR), and Michel Taube, Chairman of ECPM.
Canada was chosen as the site for the second conference because it is one of the countries where the death penalty has been abolished, but also because of its relationship to the United States, Cuba and several Caribbean islands where executions are still carried out.
“It is important [for Canada] to have a small voice in the death penalty debate,” said Lamourie. Peterson added that Canada is not “immune from the effects” of that debate and that there is no reason to be complacent.
Dr. Strange said that while the death penalty has been abolished in Canada, it remains an issue “of the present and the future.” She emphasized the need for constant vigilance becauseas recently as 1995, she said, 75 percent of Canadians still supported the death penalty even though the last execution was in 1962.
Part of the goal of the Montreal conference is to urge countries like Canada to pass legislation that prevents the extradition of accused people to countries where they risk being executed, and also to welcome refugees fleeing the death penalty. Furthermore, the congress hopes to persuade abolitionist countries to sanction the Second Protocol of the Pact of Civil Laws, which is an officially recognized document of the United Nations and prohibits executions.
For Taube, the primary objective is to sensitize people to the issue of the death penalty, and to clarify the reasons for its abolition. As part of this awareness initiative, said Taube, students are highly encouraged to attend the congress, participate in the forums, and adopt a declaration of students against the death penalty. There will also be a march through the streets of Montreal to protest executions.
A student delegation from the U of T chapter of ECPM will be attending the Congress, led by its President Cecilia Fantoni. It is hoped that by raising consciousness about the death penalty the congress will influence non-abolitionist countries to eliminate it.
