Speaking in explanation of the vote, India said each state had the sovereign right to determine its own legal system. "The draft resolution sought a moratorium on executions. India could not support the text in its present form," India said in its explanation of the vote.
Among the nations voting against the resolution were Bangladesh, China, Korea, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan and the US.
An Indian delegate participating in the vote added that the practice of death penalty was exercised only on the "rarest of occasions" in India and the country's laws contained provisions for suspending the death penalty in the cases of pregnant women.
The delegate further said that in India death sentences must be confirmed by a superior court and the accused had the right to appeal to a superior court or the Supreme Court.
The resolution is voted on every two years at the Assembly's third committee. Those who voted in favour included Australia, Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Russia, Nepal, South Africa and the United Kingdom.
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