While the number of executions was down around the world in 2016, China imposed the death penalty more often than did all other countries combined, according to Amnesty International. Canada abolished capital punishment for civilians in 1976 and has stepped up its lobbying for abolition on the international stage. Also, before extraditing a suspect to another Canada must get assurances that person will not face execution.
Other top executioners named
After China, the world’s top executioners are Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan. States excluding China put 1,032 people to death in 2016. Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada says the number for China is not known. “We cannot even begin to come close to giving an estimate. We suggest that it’s in the thousands, but there is so much secrecy that surrounds the use of the death penalty in China that we don’t even want to give an estimate because we know it will be wholly inaccurate.” Foreign nationals are not exempt. Amnesty thinks at least 11 were put to death last year.
Listen‘A conveyor belt of executions’
The United States did not make the top five as it has since 2006. It executed 20 people and that was the smallest number since 1991.
Amnesty says the number of executions was higher than thought in Malaysia and Viet Nam. The organization’s news release called the situation in Viet Nam “a conveyor belt of executions.” In Malaysia, there are said to be more than one thousand people on death row and nine were put to death in 2016. The Philippines is seeking to reinstate the death penalty as is the Maldives.
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‘Some confidence’ that advocacy is working
Overall, there were 1,032 executions worldwide in 2016 and that was down 37 per cent from the previous year. Four countries were responsible for 87 per cent of them and Neve says that is good news.
“That gives us some confidence that the advocacy is working, that everywhere…governments are changing their mind, publics are getting more and more concerned that the death penalty isn’t the right thing to do. They’re concerned about the growing number of reports if innocent people that have been executed…So that’s all very encouraging.”
A recent poll suggests Canadians are are wary of increased trade with China because of its poor human rights record.
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