Guwahati: India has voted against a United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling on countries to establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty.
The resolution, titled Moratorium on the use of the death penalty, was introduced by Mexico and adopted by the 193-member UNGA through a recorded vote on Friday.
A total of 133 countries voted in favour of the resolution, while 33 opposed it and 16 abstained.
India was among the countries voting against the measure, alongside Bahrain, China, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Maldives, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United States.
The resolution expressed deep concern over the continued use of capital punishment and reaffirmed the right of every country to develop its own legal system and determine appropriate penalties in accordance with international law.
It urged all countries to establish a moratorium on executions as a step towards abolishing the death penalty. It also called on countries that have already abolished capital punishment not to reintroduce it.
The resolution further raised concern over a significant increase in reported executions in 2025, despite what it described as a global trend towards restricting the use of the death penalty.
Among its recommendations, the resolution called on countries to progressively limit capital punishment and refrain from imposing it for offences committed by persons below the age of 18. It also called for safeguards where the age of an accused person at the time of committing an offence cannot be accurately established.
It further urged states to restrict the use of the death penalty against pregnant women, persons with mental or intellectual disabilities, and older persons.
The resolution also called for reducing the number of offences punishable by death, including through the removal of mandatory death sentences.