INITIATIVE FOR A UN MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY
A note prepared by “Hands Off Cain”
Summer, 2007
Transnational Radical Party and Hands Off Cain's campaign
TRP and Hands Off Cain's campaign started in Italy in 1993, the year during which the association was founded. The main purpose of it is to obtain a universal moratorium on the death penalty, established by the United Nations.
In 1993, the retentionist countries were 97; today, their number has lowered to 50, which means 47 less than 14 years ago. This should not be regarded as the consequence of a normal historical development, but as the result of a political campaign, joined by associations of many political and religious beliefs, countries from all continents, MPs from all parties.
The campaign will come to an end when the UN General Assembly approves a resolution about a universal moratorium on the death penalty, with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty around the world.
The Italian Government and Parliament's initiative
In 1994, thanks to the Italian Government, the UN General assembly discussed and voted for the first time a proposal of a resolution for the universal moratorium on the death penalty. It was rejected, by only eight votes, while 20 European countries abstained.
In 1997, the Prodi Government presented the resolution on the Moratorium on Capital Punishment to the UN Human Rights Commission, against the wishes of its European partners. It was approved with 27 votes in favour, 11 votes against, 14 abstentions and 1 absentee. From 1997 till 2005 (the year of the Commission’s dissolution ), the resolution was approved by a large and growing majority.
In 1999, a resolution agreed upon by the European Union was not tabled. In January 2007, Francesco Paolo Fulci, then Italian Ambassador to the UN explained that at some point "an order from Brussels came to the European Ambassadors to suspend the initiative". According to Mr. Fulci, who had contacted some 90 UN delegations, the EU decision was nonsensical as there was a clear majority in favor of the text.
In 2003, Hands Off Cain's initiative aimed to submit the resolution about the moratium on the death penalty to the General Assembly of that year, under the Italian Chairmanship of the E.U., didn't obtain unanimous approval from all the European partners, and therefore did not succeed, particularly because of the English Government's strong opposition, due to the will to maintain a good relationship with the USA, and above all with the several retentionist countries members of the Commonwealth.
On July 27, 2006, the Italian Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved a motion, proposed by Sergio D'Elia and subscribed by representatives of all political groups, which committed the Italian Government to “present in the next UN General Assembly [the one now in progress in New York] – after consulting the EU partners, but without being subject to the unanimous approval of all EU members – a proposal of a resolution for the universal moratorium on the death penalty, with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty worldwide.”
On October 19, 2006, with the Government remaining inactive, the Italian Chamber of Deputies' Committee on Foreign Affairs approved, unanimously again, a resolution which committed it to “fully and immediately accomplish the motion voted by the Chamber itself on July 27, 2006, to present to the ongoing UN General Assembly a proposal of a resolution for the universal moratorium on death penalty, with a view to completely abolishing the death penalty in all the world, and, as a result of this action, obtaining the endorsement and the joint sponsorship of countries representative of all continents.
On December 19, 2006, 85 states, members of UN, subscribed a declaration of intent against the death penalty, with which they ask the UN General Assembly to approach the question in the future. According to Hands Off Cain, a declaration like this has no political nor formal value. Between December 2006 and May 2007 eight more countries, bringing the total to 93, have signed the text. It needs to be noted that some countries, such as South Africa, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Azerbaijan and Tajikistan have also announced their readiness to sponsor the resolution.
On January 2, 2007, reacting to the non-violent initiative of the leader of the Radical Party Marco Pannella, MEP, who was on a hunger strike for eight days and who fasted for three weeks, Italy's President of the Council of Ministers Romano Prodi publicly announced that "the Italian Government was committed to trigger all the necessary formal procedures so that the 61st session of the UN General Assembly put to a resolution the question of the moratorium on the death penalty”.
On February 1, the European Parliament, in an almost unanimous vote strongly supported "the initiative of the Italian Chamber of Deputies and Government backed by the EU Council, the Commission and the Council of Europe" and asked "the EU Presidency to take appropriate action as a matter of urgency to ensure that such a resolution is urgently submitted to the current UN General Assembly; asks the EU Presidency and the Commission to keep Parliament informed of the results achieved in the current UN General Assembly on a universal moratorium on the death penalty";
On April 25, a similar resolution was adopted by the European Parliament.
On May 14, the General Affairs Committee of the European Union gave the green light to Italy to draft a resolution, gather co-sponsors and initiate the procedures to inscribe a specific item in the current UNGA agenda.
On June 14th, 2007, the Italian Chamber of Deputies’ Commission on Foreign Affairs unanimously approved a resolution presented by Sergio D’Elia that “invites, with renewed faith, the Government, reasserting its mandate, to proceed with maximum urgency and without further delay, the presentation of the Pro-Moratorium Resolution to the current General Assembly of the United Nations, being unacceptible that, after ten years of ostracism, this resolution remains blocked(under the pretense of “postponement”) at the United Nations, where an indisputably pro-moratorium majority awaits its vote and subsequent manifestation.
Why a Resolution on the Universal Moratorium on the Death Penalty Can Win at the UN
On the basis of the votes expressed on a Resolution on a Moratorium tabled at the UN Commission on Human Rights from 1997 to 2005, and taking into account the number of signatories of the political declaration on the Moratorium read out by the Finnish Presidency of the EU in December 2006 as well as the judicial evolution concerning the death penalty in various countries a Resolution on a Moratorium in view of the total abolition of capital executions would obtain a certain majority at the UNGA:
Between 106 and 108 countries would vote in favor, an absolute majority of the 192 Member States of the UN that will never be defeated by those against (61 to 68 countries). It must be noted that there will be also a group of abstentions from 16 to 18 and some 7 undecided.
What Hands Off Cain and Radical Party request
After years of unrequested and unnecessary delays and polling, the time for action at the U.N. Headquarters in New York has arrived.
On December 26, Marco Pannella began a “thirst strike” that would run till January 3rd to prevent the execution of Saddam Hussein. After the ex-dictator’s execution, in support of the universal moratorium on executions, Pannella transformed his non-violent initiative to a hunger strike. The hunger strike was planned to run till January 15, 2007. Faced with the delays of the Italian Government, Pannella re-started his hunger strike from March 21 until April 14. After two days suspension, he decided to start a lengthy hunger strike which began on April 16. He was joined by by numerous radical supporters and leaders. During this time Pannella continued his thirst strike as well. With this nonviolent intitiative, the Transnational Radical Party and Hands Off Cain urged the Italian Government to resume its leadership role in presenting the Pro-Moratorium Initiative to the United Nations.
The appeal, made by 53 Nobel Prize winners and key international figures of the arts and culture, all the representative heads of political parties in Italy’s Chamber of Deputies and Senate(except Roberto Castelli,) all the Lifetime Members of the Italian Senate, 500 Members of Parliament, almost all of Italy’s Regional Presidents, now rests in the hands of the Italian Government, waiting to be joined(“within hours”) by an already present worldwide coalition as projected by last December’s declaration undersigned by 93 countries calling for a universal moratorium on the death penalty to be voted on during the current meeting of the General Assembly.
On June 18, 2007, during the General Affairs meeting held in Luxembourg, the Italian Government (aided by the firm stance taken by France’s Kouchner) obtained a formal commitment from the EU. The EU also agreed to set a date for the presentation of the Moratorium resolution at the opening of the next General Assembly on behalf of a global coalition. This date, unlike in the past, must be complied with. Today we are particularly proud of our long non violent initiative and the way the Radical Party has fought for the Moratorium. Therefore, our indefinite hunger strike is suspended and we will start organising and strengthening international participation so that today's success can be turned into a victory at September’s General Assembly."
TABLE 2: COUNTRY STATUS ON THE DEATH PENALTY
Source: Hands Off Cain
(Updated to: 13/06/2007)
Abolitionist: 91
Albania, Andorra, Angola, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bermuda*, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Venezuela.
Abolitionist for ordinary crimes: 8
Argentina, Brazil, Chile, El Salvador, Fiji, Israel, Latvia and Peru.
De facto abolitionist (countries that have not carried out any executions for 10 years; date of last known execution in brackets): 38
Antigua and Barbuda (1991), Barbados (1984), Belize (1985), Benin (1993), Brunei Darussalam (1957), Burkina Faso (1988), Cameroon (1988), Central African Republic (1981), Congo (1982), Dominica (1986), Eritrea (no death penalty since independence in 1993), Gabon (1979), Gambia (1981), Ghana (1993), Grenada (1985), Lesotho (1995), Jamaica (1988), Kenya (1987), Laos (1989), Madagascar (1958), Malawi (1992), Maldives (1952), Mauritania (1987), Morocco (1993), Myanmar (1988), Nauru (no executions since independence, 1968), Niger (no executions or death sentences since 1976), Papua New Guinea (1957), Santa Lucia (1995), Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (1995), Sri Lanka (1976), Suriname (1982), Swaziland (1982), Tanzania (1994), Togo (1978), Tonga (1982). Tunisia (1991) and Zambia (1997).
Committed to abolishing the death penalty as members of the Council of Europe: 1
Russia.
Retentionist countries observing a moratorium on executions: 4
Algeria, Guatemala, Kazakhstan and Mali.
Retentionist: 50
Afghanistan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Botswana, Burundi, Chad, China, Comoros, Cuba, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen and Zimbabwe.
In bold, liberal democracies1 (11) that retain the death penalty
1 The classification “liberal democracy” is based on the rigorous analytic standards employed by Freedom House in its Freedom in the World 2005 report on the state of political rights and civil liberties around the world (see www.freedomhouse.org)
FORECAST OF VOTE ON A RESOLUTION FOR A MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS AT THE NEXT UNGA
Source: Hands Off Cain
(Updated to: 13/06/2007)
The following forecast on a Pro-Moratorium Resolution vote at the U.N. General Assembly takes under consideration 90* countries that have repeatedly co-sponsored the resolution as approved by the Commission on Human Rights in Geneva, to which four countries(Mozambique, Niger, Bhutan, and Nepal) are added, though not co-sponsors, having voted favorably, as well as the Republic of Montenegro which gained its independence on May 21st, 2006. Meanwhile, another three countries(the Philippines, Liberia, and Senegal) have abolished the death penalty and another five countries(Guatemala, Rwanda, Kyrgyzstan, Gabon and Kazakistan) signed the Declaration of Association of December 19th, 2006.
To this “solid base” can be added another two countries(highlighted in black) because of their abolitionist status and recent development in their internal politics during recent years.
The forecast of votes contrary to the resolution and abstensions are based on voting at The United Nations Commision on Human Rights from 1997 onwards, and the most recent survey of the internal politics of the nations in question. All sources indicate that even under the worst case scenario the resolution would pass.
*Originally, the co-sponsors numbered 92, but Iraq and Papua New Guinea changed positions after a single vote.
In bold italics countries that may decide to abstain rather than vote in favour.
Underlined: Signature countries of the Declaration of Association of December 19th, 2006.
Votes in favour: 106-108
Albania, Andorra, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Guinea Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Palau, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor Leste, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela.
.
Abstentions: 16-18
Algeria, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Congo, Cuba, Ghana, India, Madagascar, Morocco, Nigeria, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Sri Lanka, Tunisia, Zambia.
Votes against: 61-68
Afghanistan, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Burundi, Chad, China, Comoros, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Dominica, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kuwait, Laos, Lesotho, Libya, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritania, Mongolia, Myanmar, Oman, Pakistan, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United States of America, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
Unclear: 7
Central African Republic (ag/ab), Gambia (ag/ab), Lebanon (ab/ag), Malawi (ag/ab), Nauru (ag/ab), Papua New Guinea (ab/ag), Tonga (ab/ag).
ag/ab swing between a vote against and an abstention (4)
ab/ag swing between an abstention and a vote against (3)
Estimates based on the worst hypothesis:
Votes in favour: the difference between 106 and 108 is given by the 2 countries in bold italics that may decide to abstain rather than vote in favour;
Abstentions: the difference between 16 and 18 is accounted for by the 2 countries listed in bold italics as votes in favour;
Votes against: the difference between 61 and 68 is made up by the 7 countries listed in the unclear category that fluctuate between an abstention and a vote against.
|
