The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
This follows the execution on Thursday night in Alabama of Kenneth Eugene Smith.
“We saw that the authorities issued a statement saying that it worked, and it is it’s a satisfactory method of execution. It is not. It is not. It could amount to torture, inhuman, degrading treatment in violation of the treaties, the human rights treaties that the United States has signed,” said UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.
Shamdasani noted that, in addition to Alabama, Mississippi and Oklahoma have approved execution by nitrogen suffocation, and a bill has been presented in Nebraska to approve its use.
“So, we are very worried that this could open the door to further executions. And this is why we feel the need to speak out again clearly that this is not acceptable,” she told the regular press briefing in Geneva.
“We deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama despite serious concerns this novel and untested method of suffocation by nitrogen gas may amount to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment,” Shamdasani stressed.
“The death penalty is inconsistent with the fundamental right to life. We urge all States to put in place a moratorium on its use, as a step towards universal abolition,” Shmadasani said.
ENDS
For more information and media requests, please contact :
In Geneva:
Ravina Shamdasani - + 41 22 917 9169 / ravina.shamdasani@un.org
Jeremy Laurence - + 41 22 917 9383 / jeremy.laurence@un.org
Marta Hurtado - + 41 22 917 9466 / marta.hurtadogomez@un.org
Tag and share - Twitter: @UNHumanRights and Facebook: unitednationshumanrights
STORY: UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani on execution in Alabama
TRT: 01:17
SOURCE: OHCHR
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: English/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
DATELINE: 26.01.2022 GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior shot : Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We saw that the authorities issued a statement saying that it worked, and it is it’s a satisfactory method of execution. It is not. It is not. It could amount to torture, inhuman, degrading treatment in violation of the treaties, the human rights treaties that the United States has signed.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “So, we are very worried that this could open the door to further executions. And this is why we feel the need to speak out again clearly that this is not acceptable.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “We deeply regret the execution of Kenneth Eugene Smith in Alabama despite serious concerns this novel and untested method of suffocation by nitrogen gas may amount to torture, or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment.”
- Cutaway: Briefing room
- SOUNDBITE (English)—Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR): “The death penalty is inconsistent with the fundamental right to life. We urge all States to put in place a moratorium on its use, as a step towards universal abolition,” the spokesperson stated.
- Cutaway: Briefing room
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Escalating violence in Sudan’s Al-Jazirah State adds to the dire displacement crisis in the country
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | UNCTAD
Publication of the Trade and Development Report 2024: Rethinking Development in the Age of Discontent
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , OCHA , UNICEF , WHO , OHCHR
‘If UNRWA can’t operate, humanitarian system in Gaza will collapse’ – UN
The UN humanitarian and human rights community reacted forcefully on Tuesday to the vote by the Israeli Knesset banning the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA), warning of the devastating impact on millions of Palestinians who depend on it.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | WMO
New data released by the UN on Monday indicating that greenhouse gases have hit a record high shows once again that urgent action and not words is needed from the world’s major polluters to protect us all from climate change, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) insisted.
1
1
1
Edited News | WHO , UNICEF , UNHCR
Gaza’s sick and injured face new attacks on health care, lethal evacuation delays – UN humanitarians
Amid reports of a new Israeli military raid on a Gaza hospital on Friday morning - and ongoing hostilities hindering polio vaccination in the north of the Strip - UN humanitarians pleaded again for the protection of health facilities and urgent medical evacuation of critically ill patients.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNFPA
Ukraine's birthrate plummets amid war, prompting a new demographic strategy.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , UNICEF , UNIFIL
UN peacekeepers determined to stay in south Lebanon, while humanitarians report more civilian suffering in Gaza and West Bank
UN peacekeepers are keeping their positions in South Lebanon despite heavy shelling and targeted attacks; their commitment to bringing back stability to the region is unwavering, the UN said on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
Volker Türk calls on Tunisia to uphold rule of law and democratic freedoms, following pre-electoral context marred by human rights concerns
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today called on the Tunisian authorities to protect the country’s democratic processes and uphold fundamental freedoms after a presidential campaign marred by a crackdown on the opposition, independent activists and journalists.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR , UNICEF , OHCHR
With no let-up to the ongoing Israel-Lebanon conflict, the UN human rights office on Tuesday called for an independent probe into an Israeli airstrike that hit an apartment block in northern Lebanon a day earlier that left a reported 22 dead.
1
1
2
Edited News | OHCHR , WHO
Amid reports of intensifying Israeli bombing in Lebanon and Gaza overnight and continuing Hezbollah rocket fire into Israel, the UN human rights office, OHCHR, called on Friday for an end to the “killing, destruction [and] bellicose posturing” by those in power.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk updates the Human Rights Council in Geneva on the situation in Haiti
1
1
1
Edited News | HRC
Volker Türk, Haut-Commissaire des Nations Unies aux droits de l'Homme au sujet de la République démocratique du Congo (RDC)