Capital punishment is a violation of human rights, Hans Abma, chair of Amnesty International in the Netherlands, said in a speech last night at the Rockefeller Center.
Abma's view against capital punishment was supported by Dutch Parliament member Gerrit Valk, who argued that Europeans care about the prevention of crimes more than they do about the punishment of criminals.
"Capital punishment is not a domestic matter, but it's about human rights which all countries agree upon," Abma said. He said all countries should abide by the "minimum standard" of human rights.
Abma said human rights differ from civil rights in that the former cannot be taken away from any person.
"Even serial killers still have these rights," he said.
Abma added that all but one country in Europe has abolished the death penalty. He said the Netherlands has not practiced it for at least 100 years.
Abma criticized the U.S. for using a "double standard" in human rights cases. He said a large gap exists "between what the U.S. is saying to others and what the U.S. is doing to its own citizens." He cited cases of police brutality and poor prison conditions as examples.
To show Europeans' concern for prevention of crime rather than punishment of criminals, Valk quoted a story of a recent murder of children in Holland in which one victim's father was more concerned about how to prevent more violence than how to punish the killer.
"Capital punishment leads to nothing," Valk said. "It won't bring less crime or a better society."
Valk also said U.S. politicians are somewhat cowardly for not taking bold steps to abolish capital punishment.
The speech was sponsored by Amnesty International, the Dickey Center and Rockefeller/McSpadden Public Issues Forum.
Amnesty International has over one million members in 40 countries.
