Ban Ki-moon places 'own nuance' on death penalty policy

[CHIMO]

Ban Ki-moon places 'own nuance' on death penalty policy
Last Updated: Tuesday, January 2, 2007 | 9:33 PM ET
CBC News

On his first day in the job, new UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon appeared to ignore the United Nation's opposition to the death penalty by saying capital punishment should be a decision made by individual countries.

Ban made the comments Tuesday in response to a reporter's question about the execution of former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein over the weekend.

"Saddam Hussein was responsible for committing heinous crimes and unspeakable atrocities against Iraqi people, and we should never forget victims of his crime," Ban said. "The issue of capital punishment is for each and every member state to decide."

However, the UN officially opposes capital punishment. The top UN envoy in Iraq, Ashraf Qazi, restated the position again on Saturday after the former Iraqi dictator was hanged.

http://www.cbc.ca/world/story/2007/01/02/bankimoon-darfur.html

[maddezmom]

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