General Assembly Resolution #535 “Death Penalty Ban” (Category: Civil Rights; Strength: Significant) shall be struck out and rendered null and void.
Understanding and respecting the many concerns that the resolution raises about capital punishment, including cost and discriminatory use;
Believing that the integrity of a nation’s justice system is compromised when cost-saving is prioritised over justice, and that a poor precedent is set by the excessive prioritisation of cost found in the resolution;
Appreciative of prior legislative efforts by this body to provide a fair trial to all, thereby upholding faith in convictions, including General Assembly resolution #37, "Fairness in Criminal Trials";
Determined that a fair trial is especially important when the ultimate penalty is concerned;
Satisfied that many nations within this assembly have already enacted robust procedural safeguards and invested heavily into their national court systems, such that the death penalty was not issued arbitrarily or unjustly;
Perplexed by the inconsistency of permitting the death penalty under military law, through which the resolution appears to concede the public safety argument in favour of the death penalty, at the same time as curtailing a nation's ability to keep its people safe from dangerous criminals;
Further concerned that this apparent loophole would render the resolution completely ineffectual and lead to the dilution of fair trial standards in cases where the death penalty inevitably continues;
Feeling that, regardless, the question of whether or not to apply the death penalty to the most serious offenders within a nation’s jurisdiction is a matter of national sovereignty, and a decision which must not be collectivised;
Concerned that, in light of legitimate differences between nations, the World Assembly is overstepping itself into a morally-challenging policy area in a way that engenders significant opposition and risks undermining its multilateral mission to bring nations together to legislate for the common good;
Disappointed that the many nations where there is overwhelming public support for the death penalty, and where it is currently practised in a manner compatible with the rule of law, should be turned into rogue states by opting not to comply with resolution 535;
Remaining open to stricter regulation by this body on the procedural issues pertaining to the fairness of trials and proportionality of sentencing;
Hereby repeals General Assembly Resolution #535, "Death Penalty Ban"
