The Radical Party's letter-appeal to the Countries of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe, gathered in Helsinki from March to July 1992 in the frame of the CSCE follow-ups.

We believe each human being's right not to be killed as an effect of a judicial sentence or measure, even if issued

in the respect of the law, should be asserted as a new individual right and should be ratified in the fundamental Charters of the international community and of the States.

This is the objective pursued by that which we call the "international parliamentary campaign for the abolition of the death penalty by the year 2000", a campaign launched a year ago and which has been endorsed by over 1000 parliamentarians, government officials, pre-eminent international personalities in the field of culture, science and art.

We are the only transnational organization - a transparty - formed by representatives of the Parliaments of thirty countries and by citizens living in approximately fifty countries, which has chosen, in order to attain this objective, a strategy based on institutional, parliamentary, legislative, civil and nonviolent action.

First of all we ask that the CSCE countries which carry out death sentences against minors, pregnant women, mentally handicapped and elderly be urged to pledge to accept the exclusions laid down in these cases by the existing international conventions, on which there is a consolidated international custom.

We ask that the CSCE States that maintain the death penalty be proposed a three-year suspension of executions, to enable the necessary political time to decree the new individual legislation and the ratification of the international abolitionist protocols.

We are thinking in particular of the case of the republics of the former Soviet Union, such as Russia and Ukraine, that are drafting the new penal codes, and of the States such as Bulgaria, which are preparing the means for the ratification of the European Conventions.

The abolition of capital punishment from the regulations of the CSCE States would mark their progress in the direction of the respect of human rights, would further separate them from the totalitarian and fundamentalist regimes, would consolidate the system of security and cooperation in Europe and would enhance the Conference's negotiatory power.

We ask the delegations of the Countries gathered in Helsinki from March to July 1992, in the frame of the CSCE follow-ups, to operate immediately, also through the Final Paper of the meeting, in order to reach a new achievement in the field of the Law - with the abolition of the death penalty - on the eve of the new millenium in Europe and in the world.

Sergio Stanzani, First Secretary of the Radical Party

Emma Bonino, President of the Radical Party

Paolo Vigevano, Treasurer of the Radical Party

Marco Pannella, Member of the European Parliament, President of the Radical Party's Federal Council

Sergio D'Elia, Federal Councillor of the Radical Party

Basile Guissou, Federal Councillor of the Radical Party

Tomaso Staiti di Cuddia, Federal Councillor of the Radical Party