United Nations General Assembly

DEATH PENALTY: COMMENTS ON THE UN VOTE PRO-MORATORIUM

December 18, 2014: Hands Off Cain, from the salon of the Radical Party, in Rome, Via di Torre Argentina 76, has followed live the United Nations vote on the resolution, the fifth since 2007, and commented with telephone calls with who was involved in this battle.
The first comment was that of Mr. Paolo Gentiloni, the Italian foreign minister, for whom "the achievement of the UN General Assembly crown's the commitment of Italy and of its international partners," while "the number of votes in favor the universal moratorium on the death penalty ... is a source of pride for Italy ".
For the minister, "To this success, the Italian diplomatic services and the civil society have both contributed in a decisive manner”. He also recalled the establishment of a task force last July, and the historic commitment of Emma Bonino to this battle
Emma Bonino has hailed the change of vote, partly unexpected, in some countries such as Equatorial Guinea, which for the first time voted in favor and Burma, which instead went from voting against to abstention. The vote of Burma was important because it marked an important opening of the continent Asia, so far impenetrable, with maybe some exceptions such as Mongolia.
For Emma Bonino however, democracy and the battle for the abolition of the death penalty are, even compared to the UNGA vote, not an event but a process that needs to be kept alive.
Then intervened the former Foreign Minister, Ambassador Giulio Maria Terzi. For him it is time for the introduction of a special envoy of the UN Secretary General on the issue of the death penalty.
For Ambassador Terzi this battle bestows great dignity to our country and makes us proud to be Italian, able to assert our values in the world.
The Director General of Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Benin, Eric Saizonou, who was in New York to follow the debate in plenary, recalled how, after the conference hosted in Cotonou and the Abolitionist of the Year Award to President Boni Yayi, Benin has been assigned the role of coordinator of the African countries. He reiterated the willingness of his country to continue to fight for the abolition of the death penalty.
The Minister of Justice of Niger, Amadou Marou, in a continuous exchange with Marco Pannella, reiterated the commitment of the Niger to want, after the vote in favor of the resolution, to achieve the abolition in his country. To close, Amadou Marou has said he will continue to follow the battles of the Radical Party for strengthening the rule of law, starting with the establishment of a new human right, the right to knowledge.