On 28 May 2024 the Legislative Assembly of Tonga considered a proposal to extend the death penalty to drug-related offences. While the debate participants rejected this proposal by a strong margin, the consideration of the use of the death penalty for drug-related offences is cause for great concern. In this joint statement Amnesty International and six other organizations call on the Government of Tonga to seek alternate methods to combat drug-related crimes, grounded in evidence and human rights, and to fully abolish this cruel punishment, instead of taking the regressive step of expanding the death penalty.
