I

am a citizen of Indonesia who has no official position in the government and without any knowledge of the mechanisms of international politics and law but who has a deep emotional concern regarding the death penalty.  

Therefore, on behalf of those victims of the death penalty, I am writing an open letter to Your Excellency through The Jakarta Post. Fortunately, I myself am not facing the death penalty nor are any of my family or friends.

But my heart is pained by the suffering of the 226 fellow citizens of Indonesia facing the death penalty in foreign lands. No fewer than 36 are due to be executed in Saudi Arabia alone. In my own country, there are also many people waiting to be executed. And I don'€™t know how many in this world are also facing the death penalty.

I can imagine how devastated they and their loved ones are. I am sure that Your Excellency shares the same concern about those unfortunate people on death row. I am very grateful that Your Excellency has already declared that the death penalty is an anachronism in the 21st century.

Your Excellency'€™s remark reflects the global trend away from capital punishment. More and more member states of the UN from all regions acknowledge that the death penalty undermines human dignity, and that its abolition, or at least a moratorium on its use, would contribute to the enhancement and progressive development of human rights.

More than 160 member states of the United Nations with a variety of legal systems, traditions, cultures and religious backgrounds, have either abolished the death penalty or do not practice it. Yet prisoners in a number of countries continue to face execution. The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, with its mandate to promote and protect all human rights, advocates the universal abolition of the death penalty.

The UN Human Rights Office argues this position for other reasons as well, including the fundamental nature of the right to life; the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people; and the absence of proof that the death penalty serves as a deterrent to crime. In line with General Assembly resolutions calling for a phasing out of capital punishment, the UN Human Rights Office supports member states, civil society and other stakeholders campaigning for a moratorium on the death penalty and ultimately its abolition worldwide.

Thus, I avail of this precious opportunity to entreat Your Excellency as the Secretary-General of the United Nations to officially declare a global movement for eradicating the death penalty.

Jaya Suprana
Jakarta