Switzerland Is Not Neutral On The Death Penalty

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Switzerland has made it a stated goal to abolish the death penalty worldwide. Its defenders, on the other hand, insist on national Sovereignty and wish to distance themselves from so-called Western values.

Where does Switzerland stand? Where is it heading? Its developments are my focus.

• More from this auth
• German Departme

• Deutsch de Bei der Todesstrafe kennt die Schweiz keine Neutralität Original Read more: Bei der Todesstrafe kennt die Schweiz keine Neutralitä
• Français fr La Suisse ne connaît pas de neutralité en matière de peine de mort Read more: La Suisse ne connaît pas de neutralité en matière de peine de mor
• Italiano it Pena di morte, la Svizzera non è neutrale Read more: Pena di morte, la Svizzera non è neutral
• 中文 zh 瑞士在死刑问题上不想中立 Read more: 瑞士在死刑问题上不想中
• Русский ru Говоря о смертной казни, Швейцария забывает о нейтралитете Read more: Говоря о смертной казни, Швейцария забывает о нейтралитет

By 2025, Switzerland aimed to achieve a world without the death penalty. This ambitious goal was set by the country 11 years ago.“As long as the death penalty exists, we shall continue to fight against it,” said Didier Burkhalter, then foreign Minister, when the goal was set in 2013.

The goal has not been reached, but the trend has long been toward abolition. Today, only a hard core of around 20 countries regularly carry out executions. The vast majority of countries have abolished or suspended the death penalty. This development is a historical breakthrough.

Yet we are still far from a world without executions. China, Iran, Saudi Arabia and the US still regularly execute people. Amnesty International reported 1,153 known executions in 2023 – an increase of 31% from the previous year and the highest number in a decade. The true figure is believed to be much higher.

States that still maintain and implement the death penalty often stress the principle of national sovereignty. International law does not prohibit the death penalty per se. Therefore, they claim it is their right to carry it out.
Many of these states portray its abolition as a Western concern that is incompatible with their values and legal systems. Ultimately, they argue that the West seeks to impose its values and reinforce its hegemony – a claim that can be found in various forms in international politics.

“Every person has the right to life. The death penalty is prohibited.” This principle has been enshrined in the Swiss Federal ConstitutionExternal link since 1999, and it is also guides the country's foreign policy. The principle that the death penalty is categorically and under all circumstances prohibited has been a foreign policy priority since 1982. The last executions in Switzerland took place in 1944. Paradoxically, the death penalty remained an option in Swiss military law until 1992. This illustrates the complicated situation surrounding capital punishment.

In any case, it was civil society players rather than politicians who spearheaded the campaign against the death penalty in the second half of the 20th century.

After the atrocities of the Second World War, the United Nations was established, and with it the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which defined the right to life as a fundamental principle and prerequisite for the prohibition of the death penalty. It was primarily transnational civil society networks that fuelled the abolitionist movement. Among these was Amnesty International, which became one of the leading voices on the issue internationally.

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