In November, a preliminary resolution was presented to the United Nations General Assembly for a moratorium on the use of the death penalty around the world. Panama, the European Union, Paraguay, Philippines, East Timor, Rwanda, Mozambique and Russia were among the resolution's sponsors. Other co-sponsors included nations in Africa, Asia and Latin America. The resolution received 107 votes in favor, 38 against and 36 abstentions. In 2007, a similar resolution was adopted by the General Assembly, receiving 104 "yes" votes, 54 "no" and 29 abstentions. The increase in the number of supportive votes and the decline in negative votes (from 54 to 38) are indicative of an international trend away from the death penalty. The United States joined China, India and other nations in voting against the resolution. In recent years, China has consistently had the greatest number of executions in the world, with the U.S. being among the top five countries in that category. In 2009, the U.S. carried out 52 executions. UPDATE: The final vote on the resolution occurred on Dec. 21, 2010: 109 countries voted for the resolution (+3 votes from prior resolution), 41 voted against (-5 votes), 35 abstained and 7 were absent. (World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, Newsletter, January 2011).
On October 13, officials from the U.S. and Europe held what may have been the first ever international forum of law enforcement officers on the merits of the death penalty in reducing violent crime. The officers discussed whether capital punishment actually helps to keep citizens safe, assists healing for victims, and uses crime-fighting resources efficiently. The panelists, who included current and former police officers from the U.S. land Europe, addressed issues such as deterrence, closure to victims’ families, and costs as compared to alternative sentences. The panel was held at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. You can find resources regarding the forum and video clips of the presenters' remarks on DPIC's new webpage 
A new book by Andrew Hammel offers insights into the different perspectives on the death penalty in America and Europe. "Ending the Death Penalty: The European Experience in Global Perspective" examines three countries that do not have the death penalty (Germany, France and the United Kingdom), and analyzes how capital punishment was ended in those countries. Hammel ultimately believes that the governmental structure, culture, and political traditions in the U.S. make the European model of abolition unlikey to succeed here, though he also states that "important piecemeal victories" in limiting capital punishment are likely to continue in the U.S. Andrew Hammel is Assistant Professor for American Law at the University of Dusseldorf, Germany. He has worked as a lawyer with the Texas Defender Service, where he represented death row inmates in U.S. state and federal courts.
On July 30, the Court of Appeal in Kenya unanimously held that mandatory death sentences are unconstitutional, violating the right to life and inflicting inhuman punishment since the law does not provide individuals the opportunity to present mitigating evidence. As a result, hundreds of prisoners will be given new sentencing hearings at which they will be able to present reasons why they should be spared a death sentence. New procedures will have to be adopted for conducting such hearings. The old law required a death sentence as the only punishment for defendants convicted of murder. The Court of Appeal also spoke strongly against extended incarceration on death row, stating that holding a person on death row for more than 3 years would be unconstitutional.
Amnesty International recently released its annual report on international abuses and progress in the field of human rights: "The State of the World's Human Rights." The report covers January to December 2009 and addresses human rights issues in every country around the world. The report also highlights countries' involvement in international and regional human rights treaties. Among the nations in the Americas, the United States had the most active death penalty practices with over 100 new death sentences and 52 executions. Although death sentences were handed down in the Bahamas, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago, no executions were carried out. The majority of North American and South American countries are abolitionist in law or in practice.
The International Harm Reduction Association (IHRA) recently published a report on the use of the death penalty for drug crimes around the world. The report distinguishes between countries that have legislation allowing a death sentence for drug offenses and those that actually apply it in practice. According to the report, 32 jurisdictions retain the death penalty for drug offenses (out of the 58 countries that have the death penalty for any offense), at least 12 of which were known to have carried out an execution for such offenses in the last three years. These countries include China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and Viet Nam. Additionally, 13 of the 32 jurisdictions use a mandatory death penalty for certain categories of drug offenses. Five of the 32 jurisdictions are abolitionist in practice, i.e. they have not carried out an execution in many years. The United States, whose federal law allows the death penalty for certain drug offenses even where a murder has not occurred, is considered a jurisdiction with only symbolic commitment to such a practice since this part of the federal death penalty law has not been applied to any defendant.