Across Borders, Languages, and Religions

For some time now, MVFHR has been an organizational member of the Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), and today our board member Toshi Kazama is traveling to Hong Kong to represent MVFHR at ADPAN's annual meeting.

Here's an excerpt from an article about ADPAN's work that appeared on the World Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty's site a couple of months ago:

The majority of executions take place in Asia. But this is also the continent where campaigners have developed a fantastic regional abolitionist network, one that reaches across borders, languages and religions.

This year, with the Beijing Olympic Games followed by the World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10th October, the World Coalition has decided to focus on Asia.

It has a worthy partner for its actions in ADPAN (Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network) of which it is a member. Their first joint action is an open letter to the Chinese authorities, sent in February to coincide with the National People's Congress, to demand more transparency on the use of the death penalty in China, to denounce the high number of crimes subject to the death penalty, and to demand a moratorium on executions.

Throughout the year, ADPAN will also pursue its own programme based on regional themes, on which it has concentrated its action since its creation two years ago: drug offences subject to the death penalty, transparency on the use of the death penalty, unfair trials, the fate of sentenced persons with mental illnesses, the automatic death penalty, and the recognition of victims' needs.

On this last issue, ADPAN is closely supported by the American group Murder Victims' Families for Human Rights, a member of the World Coalition.