A/HRC/36/27 25. A small number of delegates said that it was the sovereign right of States to impose the death penalty. They mentioned the rights of victims of crimes, and public opinion in favour of capital punishment, to justify the retention of the death penalty. In response, others called for the voices of victims to be heard as part of an open discussion about the abolition of the death penalty. 26. Some representatives stated that the death penalty remained an important deterrent against the most serious crimes. Challenging that approach, several other representatives said that the death penalty was an ineffective and unproven deterrent of crime. Capital punishment did not serve any deterrent purpose in combating crime, including terrorism, and there was no need for any State to expand the use of the death penalty to include terrorism-related offences. Any measures to counter terrorist threats needed to be consistent with human rights. The harshness of the death penalty risked fanning the flames of extremism. Moreover, as no legal system was perfect, any miscarriage of justice in capital cases could be irreversible and fatal. The mere fact that innocent people had been executed was argument enough for abolishing the death penalty. 2. Regional efforts 27. Several representatives referred to regional efforts towards the abolition of the death penalty, including the adoption of the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights to Abolish the Death Penalty and of the declaration made at the Eleventh Summit of the Heads of State and Government of the Portuguese-Speaking Countries. 15 Representatives called for Africa to become the next abolitionist continent and said that, for that reason, the next regional congress against the death penalty would be held in Africa in 2018, in preparation for the Seventh World Congress against the Death Penalty, to be held in Brussels in February 2019. The representative of the Council of Europe reported that it was exploring ways to further promote the abolition of the death penalty worldwide and that it would share the results of its study on that topic. Other representatives spoke of efforts made to ensure that Europe would become an “execution-free continent” and deplored the recent executions in Belarus. The trend towards reinstating or broadening the application of capital punishment in the Asia-Pacific region, particularly in relation to crimes concerning drug offences, was also discussed. It was noted that States were increasingly interconnected in terms of their cooperation on criminal justice matters. With regard to extradition requests, it was suggested that a State could deny such a request from a State that retained the death penalty, which would show that there was a consequence to maintaining such a practice. It was also recommended that the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights should study the mandatory application of the death penalty. 3. Partnerships and cooperation 28. Several representatives emphasized that various stakeholders, including national human rights institutions, civil society entities, political organizations, parliamentarians, religious bodies, academic institutions and networks, and trade unions, had a role to play in encouraging abolition or moratoriums by advising Governments, monitoring situations and raising awareness. Some representatives requested that resources be provided to conduct human rights awareness-raising programmes to educate the public on the value of abolishing the death penalty. Others said they were committed to fostering discussions on the effects of the death penalty and supporting initiatives and debates on capital punishment because listening to those who held different views was crucial. They also said that cooperation between Governments, parliaments and civil society organizations at the national and international levels was essential. As an example of such cooperation, reference was made to Italy, where a dedicated governmental task force worked with representatives of civil society to strengthen cooperation on the promotion of a universal moratorium on the use of the death penalty. 15 The declaration is available, in Portuguese only, at www.itamaraty.gov.br/en/press-releases/1562311th-summit-of-the-heads-of-state-and-government-of-the-portugues-speaking-countries-brasiliadeclaration-portuguese. Also see A/HRC/27/26, para. 50. 9