Council of Europe demands end to executions

The Council of Europe parliamentary assembly has threatened to remove the US and Japan as observers at the organisation unless they stop all executions ‘‘without delay’’ and move to repeal the death penalty, officials said.

The resolution passed by the 602-member assembly late yesterday said the two countries should lose their observer status at Europe’s 43-nation human rights organisation unless progress is made on abolishing executions by January 1, 2003.