Source: Amnesty International

Parliament's approval of a bill that aims to scrap the death penalty is a vital step towards full abolition of the death penalty in Mongolia, said Amnesty International. The bill, which ratifies the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), was approved by a large majority of MPs.

“The Mongolian Parliament's vote today is another vital step forward, and Mongolia should follow up immediately implementing laws that abolish the death penalty altogether,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International Asia-Pacific Director. “In moving away from the death penalty, Mongolia is setting the standard for other countries in the Asia-Pacific region to follow.”

Amnesty International has campaigned extensively for the abolition of the death penalty in Mongolia. The death penalty remains part of the law in Mongolia until Parliament removes provisions in national legislation that still retain the death penalty. The Mongolian Criminal Code currently provides that applications of the death penalty of offenses including terrorism, genocide, rape, sabotage, and premeditated murder and assassination of state or public figure. Under these offenses, 59 crimes are considered capital crimes.

The Law on State Secrets and the Law on the List of State Secrets include the use of the death penalty, which has made it difficult to find public information on its use in Mongolia. Amnesty International was able to confirm 12 executions between 2005 and 2009. On 14 January 2010, Mongolian President Ts. Elbegdorj's announcement of a moratorium on executions as a first step toward abolition of the death penalty was welcomed internationally.

More than two-thirds of all countries in the world have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice. In the Asia Pacific region, where 14 countries still retain the death penalty and lead the world in those executed, 17 of the 41 countries in the region have abolished the death penalty.