UPR 22 Session (Geneva, 11.05.15) Review of USA Intervention by Greece

UPR 22 Session (Geneva, 11.05.15)
Review of USA Intervention by Greece

Mr. President,
Greece warmly welcomes the distinguished delegation of the USA and appreciates the US commitment to improving implementation of their human rights obligations. We welcome the national report which touches upon all recommendations of the first cycle and are thankful for the references to concrete examples on their implementation, thus contributing to the further strengthening of the UPR process and enhancing its added value within the UN system.
Greece submits the following recommendations:
1.    We welcome the repealing of capital punishment law by three states as well as the overall steady decline in the number of executions since the last UPR. We recommend the USA to consider imposing an official moratorium on executions toward the complete abolition of the death penalty in the country^
2.    Pursuant to the above, we also recommend the USA to take further legislative steps towards meeting consular notifications and access obligations under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, by intensifying already significant efforts made towards this goal, as referred to in paragraphs 72, 73 of the National Report.
Finally, taking into account paragraph 96 of the national report, we value the US commitment on never resorting to the use of such interrogation techniques again and we encourage further steps in this regard.

Thank you Mr. President