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According to the experts \u2013 who receive no salary for their work from any UN entity and are not employed by any organization \u2013 the Government\u2019s mandatory death penalties and statutory presumptions under the Misuse of Drugs Act amount to \u201carbitrary deprivations of life<\/strong>\u201d that \u201cmust stop.\u201d<\/p>\n The UN has repeatedly called for Singapore to put an end to its use of capital punishment over the years, reiterating that the mandatory imposition of the death penalty constitutes an arbitrary deprivation of life under international law.<\/p>\n \u201cStates that have not yet abolished the death penalty may impose it only for the \u2018most serious crimes,\u2019 understood as crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing,\u201d the experts said. \u201cDrug-related offences do not meet this threshold<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n They called the abolition of the death penalty everywhere \u201cthe ultimate objective under international human rights law<\/strong>.\u201d<\/p>\n The overwhelming share of executions in Singapore are for drug trafficking and related criminal convictions. In 2025, they comprised 15 of 17 executions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Under Singapore\u2019s 1973 Misuse of Drugs Act, trafficking, importing or exporting specific threshold quantities of prohibited substances carries a mandatory death penalty.<\/p>\n The law was amended in 2013 to give judges discretion to allow life imprisonment instead of death in very limited circumstances.<\/p>\n Independent rights experts have long deplored the mandatory nature of the death sentences, which means that judges generally cannot assess each defendant individually.<\/p>\n On Tuesday, they also criticised the law\u2019s shifting of the burden of proof to the accused, which they said undermines the presumption of innocence and presents \u201cgrave consequences when a person\u2019s life is at stake.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cCapital proceedings require the highest standards of fairness and due process<\/strong>,\u201d they said. \u201cNo execution can be lawful where the death sentence results from proceedings that fail to meet these guarantees.\u201d<\/p>\n The UN has long viewed the death penalty as a violation of fundamental human rights, specifically the\u00a0right to life and the\u00a0protection against cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.<\/p>\n Some 170 states have abolished or introduced a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, according to the UN\u2019s human rights office, OHCHR.<\/p>\nDrug offences drive executions<\/strong><\/h2>\n
Calls to end death penalty<\/strong><\/h2>\n