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
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
The Human Rights Council on Wednesday heard gruesome testimony of torture, rape and execution of Ukrainian detainees and soldiers by Russian forces, as a high-level independent probe delivered its latest mandated report in Geneva.
2
23
1
1
Edited News , Press Conferences | UNITED NATIONS
Cyprus talks result in trust-building measures, show ‘new atmosphere’ among divided island’s leaders, says UN’s Guterres
UN-led efforts to kick-start talks on the divided Mediterranean island of Cyprus have resulted in agreements on new trust-building measures and also underscored the positive “new atmosphere” surrounding the discussions, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Tuesday.
1
62
1
2
Edited News , Images | UNITED NATIONS , UNOG
Fresh talks over the future of Cyprus continued on Tuesday as representatives of the divided Mediterranean island gathered at the UN in Geneva along with guarantors Greece, Türkiye and the United Kingdom at the request of UN chief António Guterres.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG , WFP
The Government of Israel has ramped up settlement of the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, transferring its own population into the territory and unlawfully demolishing Palestinian homes. At the same time settler violence has increased with continued impunity, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Following last night’s Israeli strikes in Gaza, Thameen Al-Kheetan, Spokesperson for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, made the following comment at the bi-weekly news briefing in Geneva: “Weare horrified by last night’s Israeli airstrikes and shelling in Gaza, which killed hundreds, according to the Ministry of Health in the strip. This will add tragedy onto tragedy.”
1
9
1
1
Edited News | WMO
Glaciers in many regions will not survive the 21st century if they keep melting at the current rate, potentially jeopardizing hundreds of millions of people living downstream, UN climate experts said on Friday, the first World Day for Glaciers.
2
1
2
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC , OHCHR
The Iranian Government has continued to ramp up efforts to restrict the rights of civilians including young children as part of a concerted effort to crush dissent, investigators mandated by the Human Rights Council insisted on Friday.
2
1
1
Press Conferences , Edited News | HRC
Senior human rights investigators reporting to the Human Rights Council alleged on Thursday that sexual and gender-based violence by Israeli security forces against Palestinian men, women and children have been increasingly used “as a method of war” following the 7 October 2023 attacks that sparked the Gaza war.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNICEF
Bangladesh: Humanitarians describe ‘extreme desperation’ as aid cuts deepen Rohingya children’s suffering
In Bangladesh’s Cox’s Bazar refugee settlements, child malnutrition has surged and cuts in aid funding risk creating a humanitarian “catastrophe”, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Tuesday gave an update on the situation in Syria’s coastal region as reports continue to emerge of the distressing scale of violence there since 6 March.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
The aid response in Burundi to the crisis in neighbouring Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) “is literally buckling”, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, warned on Friday, as it relayed dramatic testimonies from people forced to flee the unchecked advance of Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Close to 80,000 have fled DR Congo amid fighting, sexual violence: UNHCR
In the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), insecurity and horrific sexual violence have pushed tens of thousands to flee across borders with no sign of the exodus stopping, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday.