OSCE/ODIHR Director welcomes the abolition of the death penalty in Mongolia

WARSAW, 11 December 2015 – Today, Michael Georg Link, Director of the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR), welcomed the complete abolition of the death penalty in Mongolia.

Following a parliamentary vote on 4 December, in favour of a new criminal code that abolishes capital punishment for all crimes, Mongolia has become the 105th country worldwide and the 52nd OSCE participating State to abolish the death penalty in law.

“The elimination of executions in Mongolia is a very positive development and an encouraging example of progress made toward the respect for human dignity and integrity in the OSCE region,” said Director Link.  “Most of our region now recognizes the inherently cruel, inhuman and degrading nature of the death penalty.”

By welcoming the increased number of abolitionist OSCE participating States, Link also called on those states in the OSCE region that still retain capital punishment in law or in practice to consider following Mongolia’s example. Participating States have committed to keeping the question of abolishing capital punishment under consideration and exchanging information on its use.

In its annual publication The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper, ODIHR provides an update on the status of the death penalty across the region.