* Angel Francisco
Breard was put to death by lethal injection for the stabbing of a woman
in Arlington, Virginia, a suburb of Washington, DC. After Breard's
arrest, Virginia police failed to notify the nearby Paraguayan embassy
or inform the suspect that he had the right to speak with a consular official
from his home country.
* Paraguay filed a complaint with
the World Court over the lack of notification, pointing out that a consul
would likely have persuaded Breard to make a plea agreement in return for
a life sentence. Instead he pled not guilty, testified at his own trial
that he had carried out the killing while in a state of Satanic possession,
and was convicted and sentenced to death.
* Where capital punishment is concerned,
American is increasingly regarded as an international outlaw. The
breard execution comes less than two weeks after the United Nations Commission
on Human Rights to condemned the American administration of the death penalty
as racially discriminatory and arbitrary and urged that all executions
in the United States be halted.
~~ Ndiaye found that in America "race,
ethnic origin and economic status appear to be key determinants of who
will, and who will not, receive a sentence of death".
**~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~**
In 1998, Amnesty International issued
its first report specifically addressing violations of the rights of foreign
nationals sentenced to death in the USA, in particular, the right to consular
notification and assistance. This fundamental right of all detained foreign
nationals is widely enshrined under international law, notably in Article
36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which establishes that:
''if he so requests, the competent authorities of the receiving State shall, without delay, inform the consular post of the sending State if, within its consular district, a national of that State is arrested or committed to prison or to custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner. […] The said authorities shall inform the person concerned without delay of his rights under this sub-paragraph.''
Consular officials provide crucial
and indispensable assistance to their nationals detained abroad. That assistance
may take many forms, including arranging for adequate legal representation
or interpreters, ensuring access to evidence in the home country, facilitating
contact with family members, transferring documents and attending court
hearings. Consuls are also uniquely qualified to act as the cultural bridge
between the detainee, the attorney and the local authorities, by explaining
the differences between the respective cultures and legal systems.