There are 26 signatories of the final Declaration of the first Congress against the death penalty held in Strasbourg from 21 to 23 June 2001. They represent associations throughout the world involved in the defence of human rights. The objective of the joint action is the universal abolition of the death sentence. To this end, the declaration urges the ratification by States of the international conventions abolishing the death penalty, the recognition of the impossibility of condemning to death anyone mentally disabled, the ban on extradition to countries where the death penalty is still enforced, the regular information on those condemned to death, on the conditions of detention and executions. The Council of Europe and the European Union are also asked to verify the compatibility between the role of observer or member for those countries in which capital punishments is still in force.
