A draft law on the repeal of the Law «On the accession of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 44/128 of December 15, 1989» (No. 52) of March 10, 2010 has been submitted for public discussion.
According to the presidential administration, the purpose of the document is to ensure the safety and protection of the lives and health of children and women from criminal attacks.
The draft law proposes to repeal the aforementioned law.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will be instructed to deposit the instrument of repeal of this law with the depositary, which is the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
«In accordance with the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 48/104 of December 20, 1993, states are recommended to take a comprehensive set of measures to combat violence against women, including physical and sexual violence. Countries must develop criminal, civil, labor, and administrative sanctions within their domestic legislation to punish offenses and provide compensation for damages caused to women who have been subjected to violence; such women must be provided with access to justice mechanisms and, in accordance with national law, to fair and effective remedies for the damage caused to them.
In accordance with the Constitution of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the right to life is the inalienable right of every person. This right is protected by law. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of life.
Meanwhile, there is currently a rise in the number of particularly serious crimes against children and women, including rape and murder involving rape, which is causing extreme concern for both society and the state as a whole.
...Incidents of child abuse and rape-related murders of women published in the media are becoming commonplace; society is no longer shocked by them. And this is frightening. The time has come to define a clear line beyond which any person who commits violence against children and women is excluded from society, which entails the harshest and most just punishment.
Over the past few years, particularly serious crimes involving violence against children and women have forced society to seriously consider the reintroduction of the death penalty, the ultimate punishment.
Protecting the lives and health of children and women at this stage is impossible without the threat of capital punishment and just retribution.
It should be noted that the Law «On the accession of the Kyrgyz Republic to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, adopted by UN General Assembly resolution 44/128 of 15 December 1989» of 16 March 2010, No. 52, abolished the death penalty in the country. In accordance with Part 1 of Article 25 of the Constitution, the death penalty is prohibited.
It should be noted that the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted by UN General Assembly Resolution 2200 A (XXI) of 16 December 1966 (the Kyrgyz Republic acceded to it in 1994), stipulates that the right to life is the inalienable right of every human being. This right is protected by law. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of life.
In states that have not abolished the death penalty, death sentences may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, in accordance with the law in force at the time the crime was committed and consistent with the provisions of this Covenant and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. This punishment may be carried out only pursuant to a final judgment rendered by a competent court (Article 6 of the Covenant).
Thus, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights enshrines the right of states to apply the death penalty for the most serious crimes in accordance with the law," the background statement says.
