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EP CALLS FOR UNIVERSAL MORATORIUM ON DEATH PENALTY
February 1, 2007: the European Parliament adopted a joint resolution in favour of a universal moratorium on the death penalty, with 591 votes in favour, 45 against and 31 abstentions. The resolution calls for a worldwide moratorium on executions to be established "immediately and unconditionally" through a relevant resolution of the current United Nations General Assembly.
The EP resolution voices deep concern that national laws still exist, or have been reintroduced, in dozens of countries around the world, providing for the death penalty and the execution of thousands of human beings each year.
The EP condemned the execution of late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and the media's exploitation of his hanging and deplored the way it was carried out.
For MEPs Marco Panella and Marco Cappato, after the vote of the European Parliament “the moment has come for the EU and its member states to act with courage.” “We don’t have to hand victory to the people who give in to the blackmails of Baghdad, or the abolitionists who falsely assert that a death penalty moratorium and a complete abolition are alternatives that are mutually exclusive,” the two Radical MEP’s stated. “The European Union must stop having fear of victory. In the last few days some European countries, like Great Britian, have tried to impede the presentation of a resolution at the General Assembly. This has brought conflicting and worrying signals from even the German President and the European Commission.” (Sources: Islamic Republic News Agency, Ansa, 01/02/2007)
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