Subject: Transnational
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X-Comment: The Transnational Radical Party List
Transnational - Satyagraha - 25 april 1994 - no. 0
Agency of the Radical Party
Just a few lines to present "Transnational - Satyagraha - Agency of the
Radical Party."
Satyagraha means nonviolence, establishing a dialogue to uphold truth,
reason and the law.
This Agency is a rapid and flexible instrument for communicating with all
our members and supporters, a working instrume
nt that will provide information regarding the aims established by the
motion - binding for the party organs in the purs
uit of their activities - discussed and approved by the General Council
when it met in Sofia (Bulgaria) in July 1993.
Transnational will be translated and published in the majority of the
offices listed here, thanks to the contribution t
hat will be made by many activists and also to the vital support offered by
the Agora' telecommunications service. More
than 6,000 people will receive Transnational, which will be translated into
9 languages and destined for 32 countries.
Just a few pages, that we will try and send out twice a month.
This Agency will act as a support to the Radical Party campaigns in the
area of international law which, if it is not pu
t into effect in the form of standards, regulations and laws, and not
embodied in institutions, is non-existent, ineffec
tive and remains a dead letter.
Transnational will keep you informed about the various campaigns on which
we are working, and on all the midterm objecti
ves, in a timely and precise manner.
We have just shared in a victory with the UN, won on the strength of
nonviolent dialogue, which after many months of dil
igent work with the Fifth Committee - which we will report on briefly later
- has resulted in the institution of the int
ernational Tribunal to prosecute war crimes in the Former Yugoslavia, the
first international institution with supranati
onal jurisdiction which will ensure that atrocious war crimes do not go
unpunished; that they do not occur in the futur
e.
Another extremely ambitious campaign, which sees us doing our utmost to
have a permanent International Tribunal set up a
nd to have a moratorium imposed on all executions as a function of
abolishing the death penalty worldwide by 2000, certa
inly needs an instrument such as Transnational to communicate and provide
information.
The success of Transnational depends on everyone, as does the Radical
Party's ability to affirm the necessity for laws a
nd regulations to combat violent acts of war and to stop the genocide now
being perpetrated.
We hope that after this first issue we will be able to send you
Transnational every fortnight, and that this instrument
will be useful to you, wherever you are, in upholding and realizing the
aims that unite us in the transnational, transdi
visional Radical Party.
Do a good job!
THE INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL FOR WAR CRIMES COMMITTED IN THE FORMER
YUGOSLAVIA FINALLY BECOMES OPERATIVE
In January 1993 the Radical Party urged the Italian Government to form a
Committee that would draw up and present to the
UN a draft statute for an ad hoc Tribunal to prosecute war crimes in the
Former Yugoslavia.
On 22 February 1993 the UN Security Council approved Resolution 808 with
which the ad hoc Tribunal was instituted; and i
ssued a mandate to Secretary General, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, to present a
proposal as to how the Tribunal should actuall
y be set up.
In April of that same year the Radical Party presented a petition
requesting that the Security Council speed up the form
al institution of the ad hoc Tribunal.
On 25 May 1993 the Security Council approved the Secretary General's
suggestions for setting up the tribunal with Resolu
tion 827; the statute excluded the application of the death penalty in any
case.
In September '93 the UN General Assembly met; the election of the judges
and the Public Prosecutor of the ad hoc Tribuna
l was on the agenda, but there was a risk that bureaucratic and diplomatic
red tape would prevent decisions being reache
d. The Radical Party then organizeda second petition, requesting that the
Tribunal become operative before December '93
.
On 17 September the UN elected the eleven judges. The Public Prosecutor
was appointed at the end of last October.
On 2 November 1993 Emma Bonino, Secretary of the Radical Party, led the
delegation that presented the second petition to
Boutros-Ghali in New York.
On 17 November last the Tribunal was solemnly inaugurated in The Hague.
The Italian judge Antonio Cassese was appointed
as presiding Judge.
However, the Tribunal is still a long way from becoming fully-operational:
it is necessary to have the budget approved
by the Fifth Committee of the General Assembly, but it is still being
opposed by a number of member States. On 12 March
Olivier Dupuis, President of the General Council of the Radical Party,
began a hunger strike to bring pressure to bear
on the members of the Committee, which was to last for 28 days! Hundreds
of people joined him in his act of satyagraha:
citizens from 21 countries, including 20 parliamentarians. Thousands of
people participated in this nonviolent action
by sending faxes and telegrams to New York and endorsing the request
asking the Fifth Committe to give their timely app
roval to the Tribunal's budget, allotting a specific part of the overall UN
budget to this item.After months of hard wor
k, the campaign was crowned with success. For the first time the world has
an institution with supranational jurisdicti
on: war criminals can rest assured that they will be given a fair trial.
In this way, the Law proves that it is strong
er than violence.
The definitive setting up of the ad hoc Tribunal for war crimes in the
Former Yugoslavia is the first step towards the i
nstitution of a permanent International Tribunal for crimes against
humanity. This was one of the reasons why thousands
of citizens participated in the Easter March held in Rome on April 3. The
March was promoted by the Radical Party, the
Mayors of Sarajevo and Rome, Caritas and "Hands Off Cain", the campaign to
abolish the death penalty worldwide by 2000;
and was led by the Mayor of the Bosnian capital, followed by gonfaloniers
carrying the banners of dozens and dozens of
cities that formed the "There's no Peace without Justice" Committee.
The Easter March both launched and strengthened the campaign for the
institution of the permanent International Court, a
nd the one for the moratorium on all executions as a function of the
complete abolition of the death penalty worldwide
before the end of this century - just a few years away now.
The success of these campaigns is in everyone's hands, as are the civil and
parliamentary initiatives outlined in the mo
tions that follow.
In a letter received a few days ago by Emma Bonino, Secretary of the
Radical Party, Ambassador Paolo Fulci, Italy's perm
anent representative at the UN, wrote: "...The Chairman of the Fifth
Committee of the General Assembly spoke to me the
other day of the incredible number of faxes that had been received..."
DEATH PENALTY: THE MOTIONS
Here are the texts of two work instruments: two motions that
parliamentarians can present and have approved to bring pr
essure to bear on the UN. Work instruments that any MP can put on the
agenda, or have included on same, not only in par
liament but also at Town Councils, and Regional and Provincial Councils in
order that they might be approved as motions
and represent formal political decisions at the level of local government.
Send us news of your initiative by writing to one of the Party offices
listed on the front page.
PARLIAMENTARY MOTION FOR THE MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS ADDRESSED TO THE UN
GENERAL ASSEMBLY
The.........Parliament/Chamber of Deputies
given that
- the death penalty is still provided for in the legal systems of 132 out
of 181 countries in the international communit
y (for ordinary crimes in 116 countries and exceptional crimes in 16),
including a number of democracies;
- numerous countries, including democratic ones, apply the death penalty in
circumstances that are excluded by internati
onal human rights agreements (in the case of minors and the
mentally-handicapped);
- in certain countries and situations the death penalty is inflicted
without any legal guarantees or a fair trial, espec
ially in the case of "coups d'e'tat" and civil wars; - the world community
is threated by the most basic international h
umanitarian laws being violated by war crimes, territorial aggression,
terrorism, genocide and crimes against humanity;
- these violations are extremely serious in the territory of the Former
Yugoslavia, where the massacre of civilians, sys
tematic rape of women and ethnic cleansing are an everyday occurrence;
- an international legal instrument is required to punish those responsible
for such atrocities which subordinates the p
rinciple of non-interference in a state's internal affairs to the respect
of human dignity and rights;
- the right of every human being not to be killed following a legal
sentence or judicial measure must be upheld as a fun
damental and inviolable right in every legal system, particularly in those
countries in the process of redrafting their
constitutions;
seeing that
- the European Parliament approved a Resolution on 12 March 1992, which
affirms that no State, and certainly not a demo
cratic one, can dispose of the life of its citizens by making provision in
its laws for the death penalty as a form of p
unishment, even for the most serious crimes.
- the Statute of the International Tribunal for war crimes commited in the
Former Yugoslavia instituted by the UN Securi
ty Council, excludes the death penalty in any case;
considering that
- an international campaign called "Hands Off Cain" is being conducted by
citizens and parliamentarians to abolish the d
eath penalty worldwide by the year 2000, supported by Nobel Laureates,
well-known figures from the world of science and
culture, and from many Italian cities, provinces and regions; and
representatives of the many religions and parliaments
in different countries;
- the Easter March that took place in Rome on 3 April, with the aim of
obtaining a moratorium on all executions and the
institution of the International Tribunal for crimes against humanity,
marked the latest stage in this campaign;
- the next stage, in which the same aims will be pursued, will be marked by
an initiative directed at the UN General Ass
embly that will meet in New York from September to December 1994,
consisting of parliamentary and international actions
that are now being prepared;
engages the Government
- to put on the agenda of the next UN General Assembly, which will meet in
New York from September to December 1994, the
following draft Resolution for the moratorium on all executions:
"The UN General Assembly
Considering that
- it is the right of every human being not to be killed following a legal
sentence or judicial measure, even if issued i
n respect of the law or criminal proceedings, must be upheld as a
fundamental and inviolable individual right in all nat
ional legal systems and as a human right in international laws;
- it is necessary to impose a moratorium immediately on all executions,
including those that have already been ordered,
so that the principle of a State's not having the right to dispose of any
person's life may be affirmed worldwide before
the year 2000;
asks the Security Council
- to impose a moratorium on executions in all situations created by "coups
d'e'tat" or civil wars that constitute a threa
t to world peace and security - and to have recourse, whenever States
violate this moratorium, to all the sanctions prov
ided for in the UN Charter;
decrees that
the Statute of the permanent International Tribunal makes no provision for
the death penalty for any crime, as already l
aid down in the Statute of the ad hoc Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia;
Recommends that Member States
- put into effect a moratorium on all executions, including those that have
already been ordered, and to undertake to ab
olish the death penalty by the year 2000;
- to set in motion the procedure of "international dispute" (from art. 41
of the International Covenant on Civil and Pol
itical Rights) against States which are Parties to the Covenant, but which
apply the death penalty in violation of the r
estrictions imposed in art. 6 (extreme seriousness of crime committed,
inapplicability in the case of minors under eight
een and pregnant women);
- to systematically raise objections to the reservations that States, in
ratifying the International Covenant on Civil a
nd Political Rights, put forward to the restrictions on the use of the
death penalty provided for by the Covenant itself
, thus demonstrating the evolution of international law in its confirming
the invalidity of reservations to human rights agreements."
PARLIAMENTARY MOTION FOR THE MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS ADDRESSED TO THE
SECURITY COUNCIL
The............Parliament/Chamber of Deputies
Considering that
- even though the Cold War is over, there are still hotbeds of tension and
nationalistic conflict throughout the world;
- the transition from the "balance of terror" to the "terror of
instability" has exposed situations in which various gro
ups, ethnic minorities and nations are unable to coexist peacefully;
- "coups d'e'tats" and civil wars often involve neighbouring countries and
upset the delicate balance of defence systems
and alliances at a regional and global level;
- civil wars constitute a threat to world security and therefore fall
within the competence of the Security Council, acc
ording to Chapter VII of the UN Charter;
- in such situations, the defence of human rights, particularly the right
to justice according to the fundamental rules
of legal proceedings, is carried out in an extremely "corrupt" context;
- hatred and fear resulting from danger that has been avoided or
"excitement" deriving from newly-acquired power, creat
e situations that make it difficult to reach an impartial verdict;
- when it is a question of putting bloody tyrants or revolutionaries on
trial, the death penalty, which serves as an exa
mple, is the sentence that is most likely to be inflicted instantaneously;
- the "revenge of justice" can also assume the proportions of extermination
when death sentences are carried out on peop
le accused solely of moral complicity, or those who have committed the
"crime" of belonging to the same group, party or
faction;
- the UN Tribunal for crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia excludes
the application of the death penalty, even in t
he case of perpetrators of the most heinous crimes;
engages the Government
- to adopt the Resolution approved by the European Parliament on 12 March
1992, which affirms that no State, and certain
ly not a democratic one, can dispose of the life of its citizens by making
provision in its laws for the death penalty a
s a form of punishment, even for the most serious crimes;
- to promptly pursue the legal, political and moral objective of a
moratorium on executions in the case of "coups d'e'tat
", civil wars and other similar situations;- to do everything possible in
order that the Security Council might, in such
cases, impose a moratorium on death sentences for an agreed period or
arrogate itself the right of inquiry, at least un
til there is evidence that the fundamental requirements of "just justice"
are being respected.
- to do everying possible in order that the Security Council might ban the
application of the death penalty worldwide, w
herever these situations occur.
THE PERMANENT INTERNATIONAL TRIBUNAL
After the successful Easter March, the campaign for the permanent
International Tribunal will address itself to the Inte
rnational Law Commission that is due to meet in May and June. On the
occasion of this meeting, the Commission should fi
nalize the draft Statute of the permanent Tribunal.
If this does not happen, that is, if the Commision does not complete the
job it has been asked to do, the project will b
e postponed for a year - thus preventing the UN General Assembly from
coming to a decision during this year's Autumn ses
sion - also making it impossible to solemnly institute the permanent
Tribnunal in 1995, on occasion of the 50th annivers
ary of the United Nations.
We already know that the International Tribunal is high up on the GA
agenda.
Action must be taken with the International Law Commission, in order that
its members might finish the job in hand befor
e the end of May. We can start right now, by telling them exactly why we
believe that the creation of this first intern
ational legal instrument is of fundamental importance.
So, please send a fax immediately to the Radical Party office in Rome, or
the one nearest you.
You'll find below a sample text for use in collecting signatures
(accompanied by the correct address and necessary perso
nal data); we'll take care of sending all the faxes directly to the
members of the International Law Commission at the
UN.
"We citizens request that you complete the draft Statute of the permanent
International Tribunal as soon as possible so
that it can be approved at the next meeting of the UN General Assembly.
We are also asking you to exclude the death penalty in any case, as already
provided for in the Statute of the ad hoc Tr
ibunal for war crimes committed in the Former Yugoslavia."
INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS ON DRUGS
The Radical Party is organizing a Congress for the denouncement of
international conventions on drugs, which will be hel
d in Rome on 27 and 28 May. The Congress, organized in association with
the LIA (International Anti-prohibitionist Leag
ue) and the CORA (Radical Anti-prohibitionist Organization), will be
attended by experts, jurists and parliamentarians f
rom Europe and America.The Congress was one of the initiatives decided upon
by the General Council in Sofia, with the ai
m of amending the international conventions that are the legal instruments
which bind countries to a prohibitionist poli
cy on drugs.
An international campaign could pursue two complementary objectives: the
denouncement of the conventions and the approva
l of the relative amendments. This campaign should involve public opinion,
to have parliaments approve motions engaging
their respective governments to present amendments to the unica Convention
on Drugs of 1961 and to denounce the Vienna
Convention of 1988, following which the procedure can be set in motion for
their renegotiation at the UN, and their subs
equent modification.
Contact your Radical Party office to obtain relative texts and documents.
Contact the organizing committee of the Congress at:
Rome: tel. 39-6-689791, fax 39-6-68979324
Brussels: tel. 32-2-2842579, fax 32-2-2303670
CAMPAIGN FOR THE RIGHT TO AN INTERNATIONAL LANGUAGE
A demonstration organized by the Radical Party and the Esperanto Radikala
Asocio will be held on 3 May, in front of the
European Parliament in Strasbourg, to support the 14 amendments to the
"Leonardo" program (the new EC program for vocati
onal training), presented by Marco Pannella. These amendments focus on the
problem of communication between workers in
different countries, and seek to resolve it by fully respecting each
individual language.
Contact your nearest Radical Party office to let us know if you will be
taking part in the demonstration, or if you wou
ld like further information.
A CAMPAIGN FOR NEW LAWS TO FIGHT AIDS
It has never been so startlingly clear that poverty and lack of health care
in one corner of the world can have such let
hal consequences for people on the other side of the planet. As far as the
spread of disease is concerned, the global v
illage of the Nineties is very small indeed!
In most countries AIDS is still only treated as a health problem and not as
an issue to be dealt with also in relation t
o human development and from a political and institutional standpoint.
Notwithstanding the global proportions of the pan
demic, there are still no international laws governing AIDS, which is
symbolic of the fragmented way in which the battle
against this terrible disease has been conducted so far. In other words,
we have to admit that so far we have not been
able to come up with a suitable or effective "cure."
The challenge faced by the world community demands organization and
cooperation that is sustainable at a transnational l
evel: the fact that the HIV virus knows no frontiers makes it essential to
establish common laws that are respected by
all countries. The concept of "interference for humanitarian and health
reasons" is also admissible in this case.
The main goal of the Radical Party campaign is, therefore, to fill the gap
in the international legal and institutional
framework by creating an instrument that will permit nations to take global
and concerted action against pandemics such
as the one caused by the HIV virus. The Radical Party would like to
suggest three supranational instruments: an ad hoc
UN Convention; an amendment to the Statute of the World Health
Organization; a Universal Declaration. These three pos
sibilities are not mutually exclusive.
The relationship between the individual, the small or large community of
which he is part, his country and the world, has to be rethought. This is
why political change is necessary.
