Trends recorded so far in 2025 indicate that executions have significantly increased in some countries. Some governments have shown renewed determination to use this cruel punishment as a tool of repression and control. This has frequently happened in the context of flawed narratives intended to create a false impression of security through a display of heavy-handed responses from the state, and to score political points. These narratives have also fostered a flagrant disregard for safeguards and restrictions under international human rights law and standards that have been established to protect people facing execution from being arbitrarily deprived of their lives.