To the attention of the Honourable Mr Tofek ZULFUGAROV

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan

and f.i. to Mr Mirgama Efendiev

Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Brussels

Brussels, April 16, 1998

Dear Sir,

I first would like to thank you for the Azerbagian further commitment to the worldwide abolition of the death penalty through its sponsorship of the Resolution approved by the UN Human Rights Commission last 3 of April in Geneva.

This second resolution of the Human Rights Commission represents a particularly relevant success because, as you already know, this years resolution explicitly refers to the establishment of a worldwide moratorium.

If, on the one hand many States have renewed their support to this initiative, on the other hand the novelty is reflected by the geographical and nomerical enlargement of the group of sponsoring countries.

Both my party and my abolitionist friends members of "Hands Off Cain" are convinced that the conditions now exist for UN General Assembly to pronounce itsself in favour of the establishment of a worldwide moratorium.

With this aim in mind we are now mobilizing ourselves to establish a core of countries willing to promote, next August, the inscription of the moratorium in the agenda of the General Assembly.

Besides Italy, whose concern for this question is longstanding, and Ireland, who is now fully engaged in favour of this goal, we have thought at your country.

Therefore, I allow myself to ask you if you consider that Azerbaijan could take part in this group of countries promoting a resolution at the UN General Assembly this year.

I thank you very much once again and I keep myself at your disposal for any further information, and with the hope to read you soon.

Best regards,

Olivier Dupuis

Secretary of the Radical Parti