<\/p>\n
\u00a0<\/strong>A growing number of states across the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are taking positive steps towards reducing the use and scope of the death penalty, creating new momentum towards abolition in a region historically associated with strong support for this cruel punishment, said Amnesty International ahead of the World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October. The progress taken by many countries highlights the isolation of Singapore as an outlier in the region, as executions globally remain confined to a small group of countries.<\/p>\n Over the past 20 years, a wave of reforms and decreases in executions across the now 11 ASEAN member states have changed the picture of the death penalty in the region, moving it closer in line with the three countries fully abolitionist in law (Cambodia, Philippines, Timor-Leste), details Amnesty International\u2019s new briefing, Changing Tides: Reform and resistance on the death penalty in ASEAN<\/a>. Earlier this year, Indonesia marked 10 years without executions, while Malaysia and Thailand are poised to do the same in 2027 and 2028. Brunei Darussalam and Laos have also maintained hiatuses in executions, with death sentences imposed sparingly in recent decades. However, Myanmar, Singapore and Viet Nam remain staunch in their use of the death penalty.<\/p>\n \u201cThe number of executing countries across ASEAN has steadily decreased, with just Myanmar, Singapore and Viet Nam recording executions in the past five years\u201d said Joshua Ericsson, Executive Director of Amnesty International Malaysia.<\/p>\n \u201cThis shift underscores the growing isolation of states that continue to carry out executions and justify the retention of this cruel punishment as uniquely effective for public safety. The reforms across ASEAN prove that this is not a tenable position. When human rights are put at the centre of criminal justice responses, the foundations of the death penalty begin to crack. States must move from consolidating execution hiatuses toward formal moratoriums and, ultimately, full abolition in law.\u201d<\/p>\n Singapore remains the only ASEAN member state known to carry out executions regularly and to openly oppose substantive reform, putting the country at odds with broader regional and global trends towards restriction and abolition. As of 30 September 2026, the authorities have carried out 19 executions this year, all for drug-related offences, already exceeding the 17 executions recorded in 2025 and more than double the nine recorded in 2024. Amnesty International has continued to document mandatory death sentences, mostly imposed for drug trafficking and based on unfair proceedings \u2013 rendering the executions unlawful and arbitrary under international human rights law and standards. Alarmingly, the authorities have intensified their efforts to target and silence activists and human rights defenders involved in anti-death penalty campaigning.<\/p>\n In a major setback, the military authorities in Myanmar resumed judicial executions following grossly unfair proceedings in 2022, after more than three decades without any; and then expanded the scope of the death penalty in 2025 and 2026. In Viet Nam, although the official number of executions remains a state secret that makes it difficult to confirm numbers, the authorities have driven reforms that are expected to reduce the number of capital offences from 18 to four in just over a year.<\/p>\n Several ASEAN countries have put in place significant reforms, including narrowing the scope of capital offences, removing mandatory death sentences, and implementing resentencing processes and new policy commitments to review or reduce the use of this cruel punishment.<\/p>\n If the tide continues to turn, we will see a significant decrease in the number of people sentenced to death or on death row.<\/p>\n Joshua Ericsson, Executive Director of Amnesty International Malaysia<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \u201cIndonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Viet Nam are leading the new wave of reforms as they continue to narrow the scope of the death penalty,\u201d said Joshua Ericsson. \u201cIf the tide continues to turn, we will see a significant decrease in the number of people sentenced to death or on death row.\u201d<\/p>\n Thailand has reduced the circumstances in which the death penalty can be imposed for drug-related offences under its 2021 drug control law. In Malaysia, recent legislative reforms<\/a> have substantially transformed the country\u2019s death penalty framework, leading to a reduction in the number of people under sentence of death from more than 1,200 to approximately 100 at the end of 2025. In Indonesia, a new Criminal Code classifies the death penalty as a \u201cspecial punishment\u201d to be applied as a last resort, while the number of capital offences in Viet Nam are set to be reduced from 18 to four in just over a year.<\/p>\n Despite the progress, international safeguards and restrictions on the use of the death penalty have been frequently violated in the name of public safety and the so-called \u201cwar on drugs\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cThe death penalty for drug-related offences remains in place across all eight ASEAN member states that still retain this cruel punishment, in violation of international human rights law and standards,\u201d said Joshua Ericsson. \u201cSingapore remains the outlier in the region as the only country in ASEAN where we could confirm executions for drug-related offences and where mandatory death sentences continue to be imposed for drug trafficking\u201d.<\/p>\n As of 2025, amended laws in Viet Nam repealed the death penalty for eight offences, including drug transportation. New legislative changes are expected to further reduce the number of capital offences to four, including for production of drugs. Thailand reduced the circumstances in which this cruel punishment can be applied for drug-related offences. Following the abolition of the mandatory death penalty in 2023, drug-related death sentences imposed by Malaysian High Courts have been commuted on appeal.<\/p>\n Significant progress has been made over the past 20 years in ASEAN countries, increasing the gap between those carrying out executions and those making progress towards abolition.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s clear that the way in which the death penalty is used is slowly but surely changing across the region. Abolition is evidently emerging as concerns over human dignity and compliance with international human rights law increase,\u201d said Joshua Ericsson.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s time to find a way to convert this changing discourse into concrete measures to secure the prompt and full abolition of the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment.\u201d<\/p>\n Amnesty International is calling on governments of ASEAN member states that still retain the death penalty to immediately establish, or maintain, an official moratorium on executions and take urgent steps to fully abolish this cruel punishment. Pending full abolition, states should remove the death penalty for drug-related offences, uphold the right to a fair trial and remove any laws and policies that result in the discriminatory application of the death penalty.<\/p>\n \u201cThe death penalty remains <\/strong>the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, but abolition across the region is possible if we continue to stand strong against the isolated few,\u201d said Joshua Ericsson. \u201cMillions of people worldwide campaign against the death penalty every year, proving the true power of humanity. Amnesty International will continue to call for an end to this cruel punishment until the world is free from the shadows of the gallows.\u201d<\/p>\n Member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste and Viet Nam.<\/p>\n The 24th World Day Against the Death Penalty (World Day), a global day of activism against this cruel punishment observed on 10 October 2026, offers a timely opportunity for reflection and mobilization. The World Day is an initiative coordinated every year by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty<\/a>, of which Amnesty International is a founding member.<\/p>\nSingapore remains at odds with regional trends<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Shifting tides towards abolition<\/strong><\/h4>\n
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Death penalty for drug-related offences remains in place<\/strong><\/h4>\n
The perception of the death penalty is changing<\/strong><\/h4>\n
Background<\/h4>\n