On 19 January, Armenia’s parliament approved the ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, reported arka.am.

Deputy Justice Minister Kristine Grigoryan said it is the only international treaty of worldwide scope to prohibit executions and to provide for total abolition of the death penalty. She added that more than 100 countries have abolished the death penalty at the legislative level, and many have introduced a moratorium on the execution of death sentences. It is important to note that this type of punishment has not been used in Armenia for a long time.

The Optional Protocol commits its members to the abolition of the death penalty within their borders, though Article 2.1 allows parties to make a reservation allowing execution “in time of war pursuant to a conviction for a most serious crime of a military nature committed during wartime.” Cyprus, Malta and Spain initially made such reservations, and subsequently withdrew them. Azerbaijan and Greece still retain this reservation on their implementation of the protocol, despite both having banned the death penalty in all circumstances.