The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2018 crimes, including the introduction of capital punishment for drug dealers, and the instruction to the United States Department of Justice to “seek the death penalty in drug trafficking cases, where appropriate under current law”10 move away from the overall stance on the death penalty within the OSCE region. During the reporting period, Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, told supporters that he would immediately discuss the reinstatement of capital punishment and eventually hold a referendum on the topic.11 Achieving full abolition in the OSCE region remains a strong objective for the vast majority of OSCE participating States. In a comparative study on how states abolish the death penalty, the International Commission against the Death Penalty identified that various domestic measures are crucial on the road to abolition, such as: • Publishing information regarding the use of death penalty so that members of the public are fully informed; • Enabling national institutions and civil society to engage in free and informed debate about the death penalty and seeking the advice of relevant organizations, including national human rights institutions, professional organizations, religious bodies and national and international non-governmental organizations; • Encouraging empirical studies on the use of the death penalty, including compliance with international human rights standards and the principle of non-discrimination; and • Requesting abolitionist states and intergovernmental organizations for advice, including assistance with accession to international and regional instruments on the abolition of the death penalty.12 It is also clear that leadership by heads of state, governments and others in position of power is important for achieving abolition.13 10  “President Donald J. Trump’s Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand”, the White House, 19 March 2018, <https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/president-donald-j-trumps-administration-working-every-day-help-bring-end-opioid-crisis/> (hereafter, “President Donald J. Trump’s Initiative to Stop Opioid Abuse and Reduce Drug Supply and Demand”). 11  “ Turkey’s next referendum could reintroduce the death penalty, Erdogan says”, Newsweek, 17 April 2017, https://www.newsweek.com/turkey-referendum-death-penalty-erdogan-eu-membership-585065; see also “Erdogan says Turkey could hold referendum on EU membership bid”, Euroactive with AFP, 18 April 2017, https://www. euractiv.com/section/global-europe/news/Erdogan-says-turkey-could-hold-referendum-on-eu-membership-bid/ . 12  “How States abolish the death penalty”, International Commission against the Death Penalty, 2013, <http:// www.icomdp.org/cms/wp-content/uploads/2013/04/Report-How-States-abolition-the-death-penalty.pdf>. In 2010, the Spanish Government launched an initiative to establish the International Commission against the Death Penalty (ICDP) in order to reinforce the fight against the death penalty in all regions of the world and in order to establish a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, with a view to its complete abolition. The initiative is supported by 18 countries, representing different regions of the world. 13  Ibid. 8