Southeast Asian nations are largely moving away from capital punishment, but Singapore remains a significant outlier, continuing to carry out executions at a high rate.
Southeast Asia’s Shift Away From the Death Penalty
From Vietnam to Malaysia and Indonesia, governments across Southeast Asia are reducing their reliance on the death penalty and, often cautiously, progressing toward abolition.
Currently, eight of the 11 Southeast Asian countries still retain the death penalty. Cambodia, the Philippines, and Timor-Leste have abolished it by law.
Many retentionist states have implemented de facto moratoriums on executions and revised legislation, so the death penalty is no longer a mandatory punishment for certain crimes.
The European Union has prioritized the abolition of the death penalty in its diplomatic efforts, supporting UN moratorium resolutions and engaging in political dialogues while acknowledging uneven progress.
“The EU is slowly but surely having success in some countries, at least in whittling down the number of crimes for which the penalty can be imposed,” said Phil Robertson, director of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates. “But it is not clear that progress will be sustained, so the EU would be wise to take nothing for granted.”
Movement in the Right Direction
In 2025, Vietnam’s National Assembly voted to remove the death penalty for eight offenses, reducing the number of death-eligible crimes from 18 to 10. Existing death sentences for those offenses are to be commuted to life imprisonment. The reforms are also intended to facilitate international cooperation on corruption and extradition.
Malaysia abolished the mandatory death penalty in 2023, granting judges more discretion in sentencing. A working group was established in November 2025 to examine total abolition, with work expected to begin in early 2026.
If Indonesia does not carry out any executions in 2026, it will be considered a de facto abolitionist state, having gone 10 consecutive years without an execution. Indonesia’s new Criminal Code, effective January 2, 2026, designates the death penalty as a last-resort punishment and allows for a 10-year probation period, after which a death sentence may be commuted for good conduct.
Thailand’s government rejected a proposal to abolish the death penalty in late 2024. The last execution in Thailand occurred in 2018.
“We do believe that our dialogues have contributed to steps in the right direction, at least in some Southeast Asian countries,” an EU spokesperson said. “The process to achieve full abolishment can take time, but every small step counts. And the pressure towards this goal counts too.”
The EU remains concerned about the increase in executions in Southeast Asia, particularly for drug offenses, which do not meet the standard of “most serious crimes” set by international human rights law.
Singapore ‘Doubling Down on the Death Penalty’
Singapore is an outlier in the region, “very enthusiastically doubling down on the death penalty and carrying out executions at an alarming rate,” according to Kirsten Han, a Singaporean journalist and campaigner against capital punishment.
As of this year, Singapore has carried out three executions, with no indication of slowing down. Last year, the city-state executed 17 people, the highest number since 2003.
Most cases involve drug-trafficking offenses exceeding statutory thresholds. In December 2025, Singapore’s High Court upheld the mandatory death penalty for certain drug offenses.
While the government cites public opinion studies indicating support for capital punishment, a 2016 study by the National University of Singapore found that 62% of Singaporeans had limited knowledge of how the death penalty is applied.
The EU, along with Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom, issued a joint statement in January calling on Singapore to halt pending executions and embrace abolitionism. The statement affirmed that the death penalty is incompatible with the right to life and the prohibition of cruel punishment.
Han believes such statements have limited impact, and local media are not covering them. She expressed concern about accusations of “foreign interference” from the Singaporean government.
Singapore has consistently asserted its sovereign right to determine its laws, and in 2024, it voted against a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a moratorium on the death penalty, advocating for the “sovereign right of all countries to develop their own legal systems.”
Despite Singapore’s stance, the broader regional trend in Southeast Asia has been toward restricting the scope of capital punishment, though full abolition remains elusive.
Robertson, of Asia Human Rights and Labor Advocates, said Southeast Asian governments are “still playing games rather than showing a real determination to end use of the death penalty once and for all.” He urged abolitionist states to increase pressure for greater political commitment.
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