Tsering Dhundup
DHARAMSHALA, April 12: China has once again been named the “world’s top executioner” in Amnesty International’s Death Sentences and Executions 2024 report.
Released on April 8, the report revealed a 32% spike in known executions from 2023 documented executions worldwide, totalling at least 1,518 in 2024 — the highest number recorded by Amnesty since 2015. Despite this surge, the human rights organisation stressed that the actual global total is likely much higher due to widespread state secrecy in several countries.
China, North Korea, and Vietnam were singled out for their opacity, with China once again topping the list. While exact figures remain unknown due to Beijing’s strict censorship on capital punishment data, Amnesty estimates that thousands of executions were likely carried out within Chinese borders last year.
Amnesty International has long advocated for the abolition of capital punishment, citing its incompatibility with modern human rights standards. In her statement accompanying the report, Amnesty Secretary General Agnès Callamard condemned the continued use of the death penalty.
“The death penalty is an abhorrent practice with no place in today’s world. While secrecy continued to shroud scrutiny in some countries that we believe are responsible for thousands of executions, it’s evident that states that retain the death penalty are an isolated minority,” said Callamard. “With just 15 countries carrying out executions in 2024 — the lowest number on record for the second consecutive year — this signals a move away from this cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.
More than 40% of executions in 2024 were drug-related. Carrying out the death penalty for drug crimes is also widely prevalent in Singapore and China, according to the Amnesty report.
“In many contexts, sentencing people to death for drug-related offences has been found to disproportionately impact those from disadvantaged backgrounds, while it has no proven effect in reducing drug trafficking,” said Callamard.
The global shift away from the death penalty was reflected in the recent UN General Assembly Resolution 79/179, adopted on December 17, 2024. The resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on the use of the death penalty passed with an overwhelming majority of UN member states voting in favour. However, China, along with a handful of other countries, voted against the measure, reinforcing its longstanding defiance of international calls to abolish the practice.
