Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) and their partners Penal Reform International and Adalah, Center for Human Rights Studies, will be holding their regional congress on the death penalty in Amman.

The congress, which is the second locally and the fourth at the regional level, will bring together around 50 experts from 16 countries.

The two-day congress will discuss the issue of the death penalty and its implications in the various countries of the area.

At least 200 participants, including experts, lawyers, judges, academics, NGO representatives, journalists, and diplomats, are expected to attend from countries such as Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Syria, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, and Yemen. 

“A number of prominent personalities from across the region will give their views on capital punishment. Three things I would like to emphasize: first is that the world would be a more peaceful and harmonious place if there is a universal agreement on all basic human rights in law and in practice and a recognition that we are at the end of the day one human family. Second is that the only way to achieve human fraternity and solidarity is through dialogue, interaction, and the exchange of facts. This will lead over time, as we learn from history to the steady convergence of views and the continuing evolvement and refinement of our values and convictions. Third, and this is something I strongly believe in, is that in all our human endeavors we should try to err on the side of mercy, and compassion and not on the side of retribution and coercion,” said Mohamed ElBaradei Former Vice President of Egypt - Nobel peace prize laureate in 2005 - Former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (1997-2009).

“The Middle East is at the heart of the realities of the death penalty worldwide. Yet the situation is evolving rapidly, even within the region. Iran, Egypt, and Saudi Arabia are increasingly the exceptions. The Amman Congress will shed light on these disparate realities,” said Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan ECPM’s Executive Director.

ECPM, which was founded in 2000, is a leading global association fighting for the universal abolition of the death penalty. With a presence in a dozen countries across the world, ECPM has been conducting intense advocacy work with national and international bodies for the past twenty years, in particular by supporting local actors and by organizing every three years, the biggest abolitionist event in the world: the World Congress Against the Death Penalty. ECPM also founded the World Coalition against the Death Penalty.