4th World Congress against the Death Penalty
France/ Palestinian Territories
Darfur/ Doha Agreement
Afghanistan
4th World Congress against the Death Penalty
France welcomes the opening of the 4th World Congress against the Death Penalty which is taking place in Geneva from February 24 to 26.
This event, which is being organized by the NGO “Together against the death penalty,” brings together abolitionists from throughout the world, representing institutions and civil society, for three days of debates on ways to continue making progress towards universal abolition of the death penalty.
Robert Badinter, who led the fight to abolish the death penalty in France, will take part in the opening ceremony. France will also be represented by François Zimeray, Ambassador for Human Rights.
95 countries in all regions of the world have today abolished the death penalty. Every year, new States do the same or establish moratoriums on the use of the death penalty, which encourages us to continue our efforts and to support the initiatives taken towards achieving this goal.
France urges the countries which still apply the death penalty, in practice or according to substantive law, to abolish it or, as an initial step towards the definitive abolition of the death penalty, to establish a moratorium on executions.
The UN resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty was adopted, on the initiative of France and its European partners, by 106 States in December 2008, within the framework of the General Assembly. This resolution will be presented again in December 2010 and France will be fully mobilized in order to increase the number of signatory States.
France/ Palestinian Territories
Do the French initiatives which President Sarkozy spoke of during his meeting with Mahmoud Abbas make provision for the idea of a fund to provide compensation to the Israeli settlers and the Palestinian refugees, and the idea of a force, with contributions from the EU, to ensure the security of the Palestinian Territories, as the Lebanese daily newspaper is claiming?
The President of the Republic stated very clearly on Monday that the initiatives considered with President Mahmoud Abbas would only be publicly announced once all the necessary contacts had been made in order to ensure their success.
But the issue you are referring to relates to the guarantees that the European Union would likely offer in order to achieve a comprehensive settlement to the conflict. In follow-up to the conclusions of the EU General Affairs and External Relations Council meeting on December 8, 2009, discussions are now in fact in progress with our European partners in particular with regard to security and the issue of refugees.
Abdel Wahid el-Nur has not signed the Doha Agreement on Darfur. What is your comment? Do you intend to renew Abdel Wahid el-Nur’s residence permit in France if he continues to reject the negotiations?
The priority for everyone, the international community as well as the stakeholders in the conflict, must be to bring an end, as swiftly as possible, to the suffering of the population in Darfur which has gone on for too long by reaching a final, inclusive peace agreement between the Sudanese government and the rebel movements.
France welcomes the signing in Doha yesterday of a framework agreement between the Sudanese government and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM), an important step towards this objective.
France underlines the determination of the parties, in particular that of the Sudanese government regarding this issue.
We reaffirm our support for those who made the signing of this agreement possible. We pay tribute to the relentless efforts of the State of Qatar and the Joint United Nations and African Union Mediator Djibril Bassole to make progress towards peace in Darfur and thank Chad for its contribution to these efforts.
We renew our appeal to all the rebel leaders, in particular Mr. el-Nur, to return as swiftly as possible to the critical Darfur peace negotiations. His continued intransigence and inflexibility would be incomprehensible and contrary to the interests of the people of Darfur. That is the message we are continuously conveying to him.
Is France concerned by President Karzai’s decree which amends the electoral law and which would undermine the independence of the Electoral Complaints Commission?
President Karzai’s decision, which is of paramount importance with respect to conducting the electoral process and preparing for the upcoming legislative elections, would have benefited from being discussed with all of the Afghan political leaders concerned by this process.
We must draw all of the lessons from the difficulties encountered during the holding of the presidential elections in 2009.
In light of this, other reforms appear necessary, such as updating the electoral lists and the procedures of the Independent Electoral Commission.
France is engaged alongside the United Nations and the Afghan authorities to achieve this, and will pay close attention to the actions carried out to this end.
Mr. Abdullah Abdullah, the former Afghan Foreign Minister and unsuccessful candidate in the presidential election in the conditions which we know about, is currently in Paris. Has he met with French key figures? Can you tell us about the content of these discussions? Did France invite him to come to Paris?
Mr. Abdullah Abdullah was received here yesterday by Bernard Kouchner, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, for a working lunch.
I reported on it following the meeting; please refer to yesterday’s press briefing.