What do Iraq and Afghanistan have in common?

They are the only two countries to have recently restored the death penalty.

A handful of other countries (Lebanon, Chad, Indonesia and India) have allowed executions to resume after periods of moratorium.

And four countries -- Turkey, Bhutan, Samoa and Serbia-Montenegro -- have recently abolished the death penalty.

I learned all this from reading a statement put out by the 2nd World Congress Against the Death Penalty, which convened last month in Montreal. I understand that the 3rd World Congress will be held in Turkey -- a country that now leads the U.S. in human rights, at least in one regard.