Cedar Centre for Legal Studies is taking part in the 9th World Congress Against the Death Penalty, held in the French capital Paris from 30 June to 2 July 2026. The congress brings together legal experts, civil society organizations, academics, and decision-makers from around the world to discuss international efforts aimed at abolishing the death penalty and strengthening the protection of the right to life.

The Centre’s participation is part of the congress activities, which include panel discussions, workshops, and side events, along with the Cultural Programme, an extension of the legal and human rights debates through art, memory, and human testimonies to highlight the human impact of the death penalty.

The Cultural Programme, hosted at Maison de la Radio et de la Musique from 30 June to 2 July 2026, featured a series of distinguished exhibitions and artistic events, including:

• Cartooning for Peace Exhibition, showcasing international caricatures addressing the issue of the death penalty.
• Arts & Death Row Exhibition, presenting artworks created in collaboration with individuals sentenced to death, reflecting their human experiences.
• Hakamata Letters Exhibition, where for the first time in France, letters by Iwao Hakamata were displayed. He spent decades on death row before being acquitted and released in 2024.
• Draw Me the Abolition Exhibition, featuring award-winning works by young people from around the world expressing their vision of abolishing the death penalty.

The Cultural Programme also included the musical opening ceremony of the congress, the evening event “Art as Witness to Execution” highlighting the role of creativity in conveying the testimonies of death row inmates, and concluded with an artistic performance and cultural movement embodying the values of justice and human dignity.

The participation of Cedar Centre for Legal Studies reaffirms its commitment to strengthening international human rights dialogue, engaging in global initiatives to protect human rights, and supporting efforts toward the complete abolition of the death penalty, in line with international principles of justice and the rule of law.