Business leaders from different sectors and spanning multiple continents are joining forces to call for an end to the death penalty, urging governments to commute death sentences, impose moratoria on executions and support ballot initiatives to end capital punishment for good.

The Business Leaders’ Declaration Against the Death Penalty, unveiled on Thursday by the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice during a South by Southwest Festival virtual event, is a call to action signed by 21 business titans.

“The death penalty is at a tipping point, both in the United States and globally,” Celia Ouellette, chief executive of the Responsible Business Initiative for Justice, told Al Jazeera.

The commitment from business leaders to utilise their voices and reach to help end capital punishment comes at a time when the private sector and corporations are increasingly speaking out on issues related to human rights and social and racial justice.

“Business leaders are major contributors to the global economy and we need to step up and use our voices to create systemic change,” Merck Mercuriadis, CEO of Hipgnosis Songs Fund, said in a press release announcing the campaign.

The declaration from business leaders also comes at a time when support to abolish the death penalty is growing worldwide.

The United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution in December on a moratorium on executions with 123 member states voting in favour. That’s an increase from the first time the resolution was proposed in 2007, when only 107 countries voted in favour.

Ouellette hopes between Thursday’s launch day and October 10 – World Day Against the Death Penalty – more business leaders will sign onto the declaration and “put the final gallon of gas in the tank” to end the death penalty once and for all.

Read the full article about abolishing the death penalty by Radmilla Suleymanova at Aljazeera.