Attending the debate organised by the Croatian government's Human Rights Office are numerous domestic and foreign experts, representatives of associations, European MP Emma Bonino and representatives of embassies in Croatia.
Office representative Luka Madjeric said Croatia felt entitled to initiate debates on the death penalty because of its tradition of respecting the right to life.
He said Croatia abolished the death penalty upon gaining independence, despite the then war.
Marina Vasilj of the Foreign Affairs and European Integration Ministry said Croatia had ratified all international documents intended to abolish the death penalty worldwide, including the Council of Europe's Protocol 13.
Bonino said the Italian government had been advocating since 1994 a moratorium on the execution of death sentences until the international community answered, through dialogue, if there were crimes deserving the death penalty, what they were, and how effective the death penalty was in reducing the number of the gravest crimes.
She said the efforts by the Italian and other governments in recent years had led to significant headway and considerably reduced the number of executions.
Bonino also welcomed the US Supreme Court's decision to abolish the death penalty for minors and Russia's moratorium on executions.
The other participants in the round-table debate also endorsed the moratorium on executions and international dialogue which will lead to the abolition of the death penalty through UN documents.