Switzerland welcomes the moratorium on capital punishment in Mongolia

In a speech to parliament last Thursday, President Elbegdorj announced a moratorium on capital punishment in Mongolia, which takes effect immediately. The President ordered that death penalties that have already been pronounced should be commuted to  30-year prison sentences. Switzerland welcomes this move, by which Mongolia has assumed a pioneering role in the East Asian region. It encourages Mongolia to change the moratorium into a formal abolition of capital punishment. 

Abolition of capital punishment is a priority of Swiss foreign policy in the context of the protection and the promotion of human rights. Switzerland attaches particular importance to respect for human dignity. It therefore welcomes the fact that an increasing number of states have abolished capital punishment. In order to accelerate this trend, the next World Congress against the Death Penalty will be held in Geneva from 24 to 26 February 2010  under the auspices of Switzerland. 

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