From Geneva to New York

DEATH PENALTY: UNIVERSAL MORATORIUM NOW !

For the attention of Hon. Joshka Fischer

President of the Council of Ministers of the European Union

Auswärtiges Amt

Adenauerallee 99-103

Postfach 1148

53001 Bonn (Germany)

Mr. President,

In 1997 and 1998 the European Union played a determining role in the adoption by the United Nation Human Right Commission of two resolutions that consider the abolition of the death penalty as an enlargement of the sphere of human rights and call for the establishment of a universal moratorium on capital executions.

In fact, thanks to the abolition of the death penalty, either de jure or de facto, by many countries, a comfortable majority - estimated in between 85 and 100 Member States - of abolitionist countries exists inside the UN General Assembly, while the countries which keep opposing the abolition of the death penalty amount to around 65 and the abstentionist countries about 20.

For these reasons, we believe that the conditions are ripe for the largest possible number of States not only to table a draft resolution to the next Human Rights Commission but also to decide, before June, to add the item of the universal Moratorium on capital executions on the agenda of the forthcoming General Assembly.

Full of trust, we ask you and your country to promote, as current holder of the Presidency of the European Union, all suitable initiatives to make it possible that the year 2000 begins with this new conquest for Law and Civilisation.

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Radical Party

Via di Torre Argentina 76

00186 Rome

Italy

www.radicalparty.org