Death sentences and executions in 2012
The 2012 figures on the use of the death penalty confirm that the overall trend globally is towards abolition: only one in 10 countries worldwide carried out death sentences. However, 2012 also saw setbacks: the resumption of executions especially in Gambia, India, Japan and Pakistan, as well as the alarming rise in reported executions in Iraq compared with 2011, are of grave concern.