The United Nations human rights office said on Tuesday the Trump administration's decision to reinstate the death penalty at the federal level goes against the domestic and international trend to abolish or halt executions. The U.S. Justice Department last Thursday reinstated a two-decade dormant policy allowing the federal government's use of capital punishment and immediately scheduled executions for five federal inmates.
The United Nations has long opposed the death penalty, arguing for its abolition or at least a moratorium. Critics in the United States say it is disproportionately applied to minorities and the poor.
"It's also based on the unacceptable risk of executing innocent people," U.N. human rights spokesman Rupert Colville said at a news briefing.