UN Experts Call for Death Penalty Moratorium Ahead of World Day Against the Death Penalty on October 10, 2026

Key facts

• World Day Against the Death Penalty is observed on 10 October; in 2026, UN experts issued a statement ahead of the day calling for complete abolition of the death penalty.
• According to available data, in 2025 at least 25,508 people were on death row worldwide, 2,334 people were newly sentenced to death, and 2,707 people were executed.
• The 2,707 executions in 2025 represented the highest number of recorded executions globally since 1981 and a 78 per cent increase compared with the previous year.
• Nearly half of all known executions in 2025 were reportedly carried out for drug-related offences, while 93 per cent of recorded executions took place in just two countries.
• As of 2026, 145 States have abolished the death penalty in law or in practice.
• UN experts called on States that retain capital punishment to establish an immediate moratorium on executions in compliance with UN General Assembly resolution 79/179 (2024) and to ratify the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.