USA/MEMBERSHIP CAMPAIGN/LETTER TO EX MEMBERS AND DONORS

New York, April 10, 1998

Dear friend and supporter,

1998 is the fifth year of The Radical Party's presence in the States. During this period we have considerably strengthened, also thanks to our Consultative Status with the UN, our commitment to affirm, through nonviolent political means, a new international law and the possibility to effectively implement and enforce it, substituting the law of force with the force of the law.

The radical objective that most of all seems to be on sight is the establishment of a permanent International Criminal Court. Since 1994, under the leadership of Emma Bonino, then Secretary of the Party, TRP has played a prominent role for the court's prompt creation. Through our 'No Peace Without Justice' campaign, we have tried, with success, to politicize and popularize the issue as much as possible, making it become an item for the international community's agenda. Last December, the UN General Assembly has set a date and a place for the Diplomatic Conference that will be convened in Rome June 15 to July 17. Last week, the final session for the preparation of the statute almost finalized the document for the treaty-conference. If a fair, independent and effective Court will be established, it will be a major historic achievement for the peace and security of the whole world.

Last year, with our 'Hands of Cain' campaign, we succeeded in having a strong and favorable resolution on the death penalty adopted by the Commission on Human Rights of Geneva. We are delighted to inform you that on April 3, 1998, we succeeded again! In fact, another clear document has been adopted by the Commission. What is now urgent is to strategize for the future and put pressure upon governments for the eventual adoption, at the 54th UN General Assembly, of a resolution urging for a universal moratorium of capital executions.

In May, the Economic and Social Council will take into consideration our proposal for the use of Esperanto as an international auxiliary language for translations and interpretations. With this initiative we call for transparency and equal linguistic opportunities for all the 185 Member States in the diffusion of the proceedings of the meetings of the United Nations.

Furthermore this Summer, the UNGA will also address the question of drugs, proposing the unrealistic utopia of a drug-free world by 2008. Since last year, we have been active in Vienna presenting statements and challenging the UN prohibitionist strategy with our alternative proposal of the legalization. We are also among the founders of the 'Global Coalition for Alternatives to the War on Drugs'. Our plans are to organize a conference at the UN as well as a protest for the opening day of the Session on Narcotics.

You can find more detailed information about the Party and its activities in the brochure we are pleased to enclose. As you can imagine a Party that is more and more becoming the "Party of the UN" needs commitment, involvement and contributions of any kind, intellectual as well as financial. It will be a pleasure and an honor for us to enlist your support to our campaigns, or to enroll you as a party member for 1998.

We are looking forward to hearing from you soon, in the meantime we remain at your full disposal for further information and documentation. Best wishes.

Marco Cappato Marco PerDuca

(UN Representatives)