How did Robert Badinter become involved with ECPM ?
Between the abolition of the death penalty in France in 1981 and the early 2000s, little was done on the abolition front. Only the Council of Europe really promoted abolitionism at the international level, and obviously more so in Europe, particularly in Eastern European countries that had just emerged from the Soviet influence with the fall of the Berlin Wall. With the birth of ECPM on October 10, 2000, through a French and international campaign against the death penalty in the US and a petition that gathered more than 500,000 signatures, Robert Badinter immediately approached ECPM and became an unwavering supporter. He attended our first gatherings and the 1st World Congress in Strasbourg in 2001.
What was his impact on the global abolitionist movement ?
Robert Badinter used to remind us that even if abolition stems from a courageous political decision, it cannot happen without the determined action of civil society and activists.
ECPM’s commitment to unifying and mobilizing the global abolitionist movement was entirely in line with his vision of the fight for universal abolition.
He was certainly the honorary president of ECPM, but he was also the patron of all abolitionist activists around the world. I had the opportunity on several occasions to take him with me on missions to Morocco, Tunisia, Lebanon, and Belarus. I was able to gauge the impact and aura he had on such a diverse audience. Here, a lawyer brimming with admiration; there, a minister who was so respectful and knowledgeable about his unique career; or enthusiastic activists asking for signatures in his books or autographs like groupies.
I remember, for example, young Moroccan lawyers lining up just to shake his hand and express their admiration. I happened to have lunch one day with the former president of Chad, Idriss Deby, when we were negotiating with him and his minister of justice on abolition in Chad. Much of our discussion focused on 1981 and Robert Badinter, as he happened to be in France at that time. He was a close friend of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer. Just recently, a few months ago in Japan and South Korea, I was impressed by the number of people who spoke to me about him, from distinguished lawyers to parliamentarians. He was a unique role model for everyone.
Raphaël Chenuil-Hazan, director of Ensemble contre la peine de mort (ECPM) and a friend, tells the story of the former Minister of Justice.
How did your friendship evolve over time ?
When I became Executive Director of ECPM in 2009, my first task was to introduce myself to Robert at his apartment near the Luxembourg Gardens. From that first meeting, we managed to forge the fraternal bond necessary for the development of ECPM and our fight for global abolition. We shared a love of the Republic and secularism, and we immediately hit it off. From that day on, we met every two months (or more) to review ECPM’s actions and discuss strategies and ambitions. He listened, exchanged ideas, and shared his thoughts with incredible humility for a man of his stature, given his many years of experience in the field and in action.
Beyond our commitment, we had so much in common. I believe that during those 16 years of working alongside him on a daily basis, I succeeded in building a strong and incredible relationship of trust. He had become a true friend, for whom I obviously felt admiration but also brotherhood. In the last months of his life, he was very concerned about the state of the world, the extraordinary rise of anti-Semitism, and the setbacks on the human rights front everywhere. We saw each other a lot and spent long hours together despite his fatigue. This anxiety led him to question me on a thousand and one hot topics in the news to take the pulse of the society in which he lived, but because of his advanced age, he sometimes felt out of step. He didn’t go out much anymore and, of course, didn’t have any social media accounts. That didn’t stop him from having a sharp and accurate opinion on the subject. He had clearly become a “father” to me, if not spiritual, then activist and intellectual.
What does his legacy tell us in today’s world ?
We are Robert Badinter’s “abolitionist children.” ECPM continues Robert’s fight for universal abolition. This internationalism is based on the idea that the abolition of the death penalty is on the same level as the abolition of slavery, torture, or other fundamental struggles such as the fight for gender equality or against colonialism.
To learn more
