Thirty-nine countries including India voted against a United Nations General Assembly draft resolution which called for abolishing the death penalty. It said that every nation had the "sovereign right" to determine its own legal system. 

The non-binding resolution called for a suspension on executions with a view to abolish the death penalty. It calls on nations to restrict the death penalty's use and not impose capital punishment for offences committed by persons under age 18 or pregnant women. States would also be called on to reduce the number of offences for which the death penalty might be imposed.

Other nations voting against the resolution were Bangladesh, China, Korea, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Kuwait, Libya, Pakistan and the US.

The resolution, dealing with social and humanitarian issues, was adopted on Monday at the General Assembly's Third Committee. 110 nations voted in favour of the resolution while 36 abstained.

Explaining the reason for 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."