The United Nations continues to advocate for the universal abolition of the death penalty, emphasizing that the right to life is protected under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, ratified by 175 countries. For states that retain capital punishment, it should only be applied in exceptional cases for the “most serious crimes.” Despite this, the UN’s Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported a sharp increase in executions last year, with many carried out for drug-related offences, crimes committed by minors, or acts that do not meet the threshold of “most serious crimes.”
Volker Türk, UN Commissioner for Human Rights, stressed that the death penalty is not an effective crime-control tool and risks executing innocent people. He highlighted that capital punishment is often applied arbitrarily and discriminatorily, violating principles of equality before the law.
Executions occurred across multiple regions, with no single area dominating the practice. In Iran, at least 1,500 people were executed in 2025, nearly half for drug-related offences. Saudi Arabia recorded at least 356 executions, 78 percent related to drugs, while public executions persisted in Afghanistan. In Israel, legislative proposals sought to expand the death penalty, particularly targeting Palestinians. The United States carried out 47 executions, the highest in 16 years, while Somalia executed 24 people and Singapore 17.
Despite these alarming trends, OHCHR noted some positive developments. Vietnam reduced the number of capital offences, and Pakistan removed two non-lethal death-eligible crimes. Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty for ordinary crimes at the end of 2024, Kenya began reviewing its capital punishment laws, Malaysia’s resentencing process lowered the number of people at risk of execution by over 1,000, and Kyrgyzstan’s Constitutional Court reaffirmed the death penalty prohibition. Overall, 170 countries have now abolished or placed a moratorium on capital punishment in law or practice, reflecting ongoing global progress toward its elimination.
