UNITED NATIONS — On his first official day on the job, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stepped back from the United Nations' long-standing opposition to the death penalty, saying capital punishment was an issue for each country to decide.
Ban's statement Tuesday contrasted sharply with his predecessors' rejection of the death penalty and the U.N. special envoy to Iraq's condemnation of Saddam Hussein's execution.
To U.N. watchers scrutinizing Ban's first moves, the remarks signaled that he would be more cautious than predecessor Kofi Annan in using the secretary-general's post as a bully pulpit, and that he was not afraid to depart from traditional U.N. positions.
Ban, responding to a question about the weekend execution of Hussein, said the former Iraqi leader "was responsible for committing heinous crimes and unspeakable atrocities against the Iraqi people. We should never forget the victims of his crimes."
But, he said, "The issue of capital punishment is for each and every member state to decide.
"At the same time," he added, "I would hope that the international member states would pay due regard to all aspects of international humanitarian laws."
It was Ban's first official statement as secretary-general, and his first lesson that every word he says counts. His aides spent the rest of the day trying to explain his comments.
Michele Montas, his new spokeswoman, said there was no change in U.N. policy and what Ban said "was his own nuance" on the death penalty.
Ban's native South Korea employs capital punishment, as does the U.S., China and Russia, three of the permanent members of the Security Council.
"The U.N. policy still remains that the organization is not for capital punishment," Montas said.
The stance voiced by Annan and High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour was that out of respect for human rights, the U.N. did not support the death penalty. Ashraf Jehangir Qazi, the U.N.'s special representative to Iraq, strongly reiterated that position after Hussein's hanging.
Human rights groups say the death penalty is not a clear-cut issue under international law. An optional protocol to the legally binding International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights says the abolition of the death penalty contributes to human dignity and rights.
