WHAT WE DO

ECPM (Ensemble contre la peine de mort) is working for a specific cause: universal abolition of the death penalty under all circumstances.

Advocating at the highest level

ECPM is the first anti-death penalty NGO to obtain Ecosoc status which guarantees it a presence at the UN and enables it to advocate at the very heart of the UN.
ECPM set about creating the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in 2002, an organisation which today has more than 150 members – NGOs, bar associations, local authorities and unions – across the world.
ECPM runs advocacy and public mobilisation campaigns with political decision-makers (European Union, African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, governments, etc.).

Uniting abolitionnist across the world

ECPM founded and organises the World Congresses Against the Death Penalty. These events bring together more than 1,500 people representing the global abolitionist movement. Ministers, parliamentarians, diplomats, lawyers, activists, civil society organisations, researchers and journalists all come together every three years to strengthen their bonds and draw up strategies for the future.

Educating and raising awareness about abolition

ECPM visits schools to encourage students to commit to the cause via drawing competitions, introductory courses to journalism and free class visits – with the participation of specialists, ex-death penalty prisoners and families of prisoners sentenced to death. More than 10,000 middle and high school students have been involved since October 2009.
ECPM raises public awareness of the situation of minorities and vulnerable groups by participating in Gay Pride, Fête de L’Humanité, Cities for Life, the World Day Against the Death Penalty, the world Human Rights Day, etc.

Strengthening the capabilities of local actors and acting with them

ECPM seeks to combat the isolation of activists wherever the death penalty persists by supporting the creation of national and regional coalitions against the death penalty (Morocco, Tunisia, Central Africa, Asia, etc.), as well as the creation of networks of abolitionist parliamentarians and lawyers. ECPM encourages efficiency among its local partners by organising training sessions and advocates at all political levels to support their work.

Being as close as possible to prisoners sentenced to death

ECPM carries out and publishes investigations into death row (Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon and the United States). Our “Investigation into death row in the DRC” received France’s leading human rights prize (Grand Prix des droits de l’homme).
ECPM supports victims of the death penalty, prisoners and their families, such as Serge Atlaoui and Hank Skinner.
ECPM encourages correspondence with prisoners sentenced to death.

OUR HISTORY

2000

Creation of the organisation • ECPM was founded as part of the campaign “Together Against the Death Penalty in the United States” (“Ensemble contre la peine de mort aux États-Unis”) which resulted in 500,000 signatures in France and which Catherine Deneuve handed to the American Embassy.

2001

1st World Congress in Strasbourg • In the presence of Robert Badinter and Jacques Derrida. This event would go on to be held every three years: in Montreal (2004), Paris (2007), Geneva (2010), Madrid (2013) and Oslo (2016). ECPM positions itself as the organisation which unites the world’s abolitionist forces.

2002

Creation of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty • After the 1st World Congress and initiated by ECPM, the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty was created in Rome on 13 May 2002. Today, it has more than 150 members.

2005

Human rights prize for the investigation in the DRC • Further investigations were then organised in Burundi, Rwanda, Tunisia, Morocco, the USA, Cameroon and Lebanon.

2007

The case of the Bulgarian nurses • ECPM mobilised the candidates for the French presidential election to save the 5 Bulgarian nurses and Palestinian doctor sentenced to death in Libya for supposedly infecting children with the Aids virus.

2010

Campaign for Hank Skinner • ECPM acted to prevent the execution of Hank Skinner, sentenced to death in Texas. After 15 years of legal battles, he obtained DNA analysis of the sealed evidence from the crime scene 19 years after the events.

2013

Launch of the first Network of Parliamentarians Against the Death Penalty in Morocco • It included more than 250 signatories. Other networks were created subsequently in Tunisia, Lebanon, the DRC and Malaysia.

2015

Campaign for Serge Atlaoui and all prisoners sentenced to death in Indonesia • In particular, ECPM acted to prevent the execution of Serge Atlaoui, a French citizen sentenced to death.

2016

Consultative status at Ecosoc • ECPM present in Geneva (the Human Rights Council), New York (UN headquarters and the Security Council) and Vienna (UNODC- UN Office on drugs and crime).

2018

African Congress Against the Death Penalty in Abidjan • Bringing together more than 500 people, this 3rd Regional Congress Against the Death Penalty was the biggest abolitionist event every held on the African continent.