Moldova acceded to the joint declaration of the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Catherine Ashton and Secretary General of the Council of Europe Thorbjorn Jagland on the European and World Day against the Death Penalty, Info-Prim Neo reports. The European officials reaffirm their commitment to continue the concerted efforts to promote the abolition of the death penalty around the world. The European Union is opposed to the use of capital punishment in all cases and under any circumstances. “Capital punishment is a cruel, inhumane and irreversible action that violates the basic human right to life and dignity. In the case of any miscarriage of justice, from which no legal system is immune, it represents a terrible and irreversible loss of human life. The death penalty can neither reverse the crime it seeks to punish nor mitigate a victim's loss. It should be a relic of the past,” said Catherine Ashton. The EU is the first regional body to have adopted rules prohibiting trade in goods used for capital punishment or torture and ill-treatment, as well as on the supply of technical assistance related to such goods. The European Commission informs that 20 of the 58 retentionist countries around the world continue to carry out executions at an alarming rate. Where the death penalty still exists, the EU calls for its use to be progressively restricted and to respect internationally-agreed minimum standards.