Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

Ministère des Affaires Etrangères et du Commerce International

125 Sussex Drive

Lester B. Pearson Building

Ottawa, Ontario

K1A 0J2

December, 8, 1998

JLAH0688

M. Olivier Dupuis, MPE

Parlement européen

Brussels

Belgium

Facsimile: 011-32-2-284-9198

Dear M. Dupuis,

I am in receipt of your letter dated August 11, 1998 to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Honourable Lloyd Axworthy, in which you requested Canada's endorsement of a possible UN General Assembly resolution on a universal moratorium on the death penalty. The Minister has asked me to respond to your letter on his behalf. We apologize for the delay in responding.

As the Director of our Human Rights Policy Division noted in a previous letter to you on this subject, Canada was one of the countries that cosponsored the resolution on the Question of the Death Penalty (1998/8) at the 54th session of the Commission on Human Rights. Although we are in principle sympathetic to your request, we are unable to commit to co-sponsorship of an initiative at the General Assembly until we have presented with, and had the opportunity to review, a detailed proposal.

I trust that the above is helpful to you.

Yours sincerely,

Alan H. Kessel

Director

United Nations, Criminal and Treaty Law Division