Subject: From TRANSNATIONAL - Satyagraha - 25 April 1994 - No. 0
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X-Comment: The Transnational Radical Party List
Fortnightly Newsletter of the Radical Party
DEATH PENALTY: THE MOTIONS
Here are the texts of two work instruments: two motions that
parliamentarians can present and have approved to bring pressure to bear on
the UN. Work instruments that any MP can put on the agenda, or have
included on same, not only in parliament 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 community (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 international 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, especially in the case of
"coups d'e'tat" and civil wars; - the world community is threated by the
most basic international humanitarian 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, systematic 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 principle 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 fundamental 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 democratic one, can dispose of
the life of its citizens by making provision in its laws for the death
penalty as a form of punishment, even for the most serious crimes.
- the Statute of the International Tribunal for war crimes commited in the
Former Yugoslavia instituted by the UN Security 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 death 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 Assembly 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 in respect of the law or
criminal proceedings, must be upheld as a fundamental and inviolable
individual right in all national 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 threat to world peace and security
- and to have recourse, whenever States violate this moratorium, to all the
sanctions provided 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 laid 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 abolish 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 Political Rights) against States
which are Parties to the Covenant, but which apply the death penalty in
violation of the restrictions imposed in art. 6 (extreme seriousness of
crime committed, inapplicability in the case of minors under eighteen and
pregnant women);
- to systematically raise objections to the reservations that States, in
ratifying the International Covenant on Civil and 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 groups, 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, according 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, create 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 example, 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 people 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 the 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 certainly not a democratic one, can
dispose of the life of its citizens by making provision in its laws for the
death penalty as 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 until 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, wherever these situations
occur.
