Translated with AI
A sharp increase in the number of death penalty executions worldwide is expected in 2025, despite the continued global trend toward abolition of capital punishment, according to a press release from the UN Human Rights Office.
According to the agency, several countries that continue to use the death penalty have increased their executions "significantly," raising alarm in the international community. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk noted that there has been an increase in executions for crimes that do not meet the threshold of "most serious crimes" under international law. Executions of individuals convicted of crimes committed as children continue, and a high degree of secrecy surrounding the administration of death sentences remains.
Particularly alarming is the rise in executions for drug-related crimes that do not involve intentional killing. According to Türk, such measures not only contravene international legal norms but are also ineffective in deterring crime.
In Iran, according to available data, at least 1,500 people were executed in 2025. At least 47% of all executions were related to drug-related crimes. The High Commissioner emphasized that the scale and pace of the death penalty's use demonstrates its systematic use as a tool of state intimidation, with a disproportionate impact on ethnic minorities and migrants.
In Saudi Arabia, at least 356 people were executed in 2025, surpassing the previous record set in 2024. Seventy-eight percent of executions were for drug-related offenses, following the resumption of such sentences at the end of 2022. At least two inmates were executed for crimes committed as children, which, according to Türk, raises serious concerns about children's rights.
In the United States, 47 executions were carried out in 2025—the highest number in the past 16 years. For the first time since 2024, gas asphyxiation was used, raising concerns about possible torture and cruelty.
Public executions continue in Afghanistan, violating international human rights standards. On April 11, 2025, four people convicted of murder were executed by relatives of the victims at sports stadiums in Badghis, Nimroz, and Farah provinces. Since August 2021, the authorities have carried out several public executions.
In addition, at least 24 people were executed in Somalia and 17 in Singapore. In China and North Korea, information on the use of the death penalty is kept secret, making it difficult to obtain accurate data. Belarus recently expanded the list of crimes punishable by death under its national security and counter-terrorism legislation.
Israel is considering legislative initiatives aimed at expanding the use of the death penalty by introducing mandatory sentences, which are expected to apply exclusively to Palestinians. This raises concerns about the violation of their right to due process and other violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. Executions carried out by Hamas in Gaza are also considered a grave human rights violation.
Meanwhile, in 2025, several countries took steps to reduce the number of death sentences. Vietnam reduced the number of crimes punishable by death. Pakistan removed two non-violent crimes from its list of capital offenses, while retaining 29. Zimbabwe abolished the death penalty for crimes not considered particularly serious. Kenya initiated a legislative review of its death penalty regulations, and in Malaysia, a review of sentences reduced the number of people facing execution by more than 1,000. In Kyrgyzstan, the Constitutional Court upheld the ban on the death penalty, declaring a bill to reinstate it unconstitutional.
Volker Türk emphasized that the death penalty is not an effective tool for combating crime and can lead to the execution of innocent people. In practice, the death penalty is often applied arbitrarily and discriminatorily, which violates the fundamental principles of equality before the law. The High Commissioner reiterated his call on states that retain the death penalty to immediately impose a moratorium on executions, commute all existing death sentences, and move toward complete abolition.
