The members of the commission have taken the decision to select Madrid as the headquarters to host the future Secretariat of the ICDP, and have decided to provide it with its own legal personality pursuant to the legislation of its host country, in this case Spain.
The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs, Ignacio Ybáñez, who was present at Thursday's meeting, thanked the commissioners for the trust they placed in our country and highlighted that, as a result of this decision, a major step has been taken to ensure its own viability.
The State secretary referred to the need to design a financing strategy, and very positively assessed the initiative to draw up a strategy per region and per country by the commissioners next year, since this will enable a suitable approach to be designed for the activities to be carried on by the commission in the coming years, thanks to its knowledge of the respective zones.
The State Secretary for Foreign Affairs highlighted Spain's commitment and support for the work of the commission in its role as a unique instrument working towards the abolition of capital punishment. The ICDP, made up of different figures of renowned international prestige on human rights issues, was set up on 7 October 2010 in Madrid as a result of a Spanish imitative to underpin the global trend towards abolishing the death penalty.
One of the key priorities of Spanish foreign action on human rights issues is precisely the fight against the death penalty, at distinct international levels and forums. Our country rejects this penalty in all cases and under all circumstances, regardless of the gravity of the crime committed, as it considers it to be a cruel, inhumane and degrading form of punishment, which implies serious human rights violations, lacks any proven dissuasive effects and is irreparable in the event of a judicial error.
EFE