UN committee approves 10 human rights drafts after divisions over death penalty and killings

The UN General Assembly’s Third Committee has approved 10 draft resolutions on human rights, including texts calling for a moratorium on the death penalty and condemning extrajudicial killings. Divisions over sovereignty and protections for vulnerable groups shaped several votes at the 13 November meeting.

The committee backed the draft on a death-penalty moratorium by 133 votes to 33, with 16 abstentions. The text calls on states to establish a moratorium with a view to abolishing capital punishment. Before that vote, delegates approved a Singapore-backed amendment affirming countries’ sovereign right to develop their own legal systems, including their choice of penalties, in accordance with international law. It passed by 97 votes to 63, with 16 abstentions.

Mexico’s representative, introducing the moratorium draft, said reported executions had risen by almost 80 per cent compared with 2024, concentrated in a small number of states. She argued that a moratorium could help prevent irreversible miscarriages of justice. Opposing the draft, Egypt’s representative said capital punishment deterred serious crimes; the US representative stressed fair trials and safeguards against undue suffering.

A second major dispute centred on the resolution on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The committee approved it by 131 votes to none, with 47 abstentions, after rejecting three amendments. Egypt’s proposal to replace explicit references to sexual orientation and gender identity was defeated by 69 votes to 74, with 24 abstentions. Finland’s representative, speaking for the Nordic countries, said the wording identified groups particularly vulnerable to unlawful killings and impunity.

Delegates also rejected two Russian amendments, each by 22 votes to 81. They sought to remove a reference to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and a separate operative paragraph. Russia’s representative cited a “crisis of trust” in the court and warned against interference with state sovereignty.

The meeting also featured accusations between Cuba and the United States during debate on a draft about mercenaries. The US representative alleged that thousands of Cuban citizens had travelled to fight for Russia. Cuba’s representative called the allegation baseless, denied Cuban involvement in the conflict and said the government had conducted 17 internal investigations into recruitment of Cuban citizens abroad. The committee approved the resolution by 117 votes to 54, with seven abstentions.

The other approved texts covered international cooperation on human rights, unilateral coercive measures, the right to development, peace, an equitable international order and the right to food. A resolution on follow-up to the Second World Assembly on Ageing passed without a vote.

These are committee approvals of draft resolutions, not votes by the full General Assembly. The UN’s meeting account is labelled “For information media. Not an official record.”