Question to the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office:

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs, what recent assessment he has made of the adequacy of the Government’s engagement with international partners on the use of the death penalty; and what steps his Department is taking to raise concerns with countries that continue to apply capital punishment.

The UK Government is opposed to the death penalty, in all circumstances, as a matter of principle. We believe that the death penalty's use undermines human dignity, that there is no conclusive evidence of its deterrent value, and that any miscarriage of justice leading to its imposition is irreversible and irreparable.

The UK works with our international partners and with NGOs to: increase the number of abolitionist countries, or countries with a moratorium on the use of the death penalty; reduce the numbers of executions and restrict the use of the death penalty in retentionist countries; increase judicial capacity and legal reform through training and partnerships with UK legal expertise, and encourage greater transparency about the use of the death penalty in line with international standards.

The UK remains a strong supporter of the UN General Assembly Resolution for the moratorium on the use of the death penalty.