The European Union's representatives in Minsk called on the Belarusian authorities to impose a moratorium on death penalty as a step towards its eventual abolition, Russian news agency Interfax reported Oct. 13.
The EU delegation in Belarus said in a message that Belarus still has death sentence, and there are currently two people on death row.
The EU called on the Belarusian authorities to take notice of the call from the UN Human Rights Committee, and suspend the death penalties.
The message said the EU and its member states, represented in Belarus, stand ready to take part in a broad public debate on abolition of the death penalty and share their experiences and knowledge.
Also, the message said a steady tendency towards abolition of the death penalty is still present in the world.
The EU message said the death penalty does not deter crime; the death penalty can neither prevent a crime nor alleviate the suffering of its victims.
The message said there are also cases when the death penalty is awarded by a judicial error, and often such errors are found out after the death sentence is carried out.