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LAUNCH OF HANDS OFF CAIN’S 2002 REPORT: THE DEATH PENALTY WORLDWIDE
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Wednesday 9 October 2002 at 10.45 am
ROOM 1 E03
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Bat. Altiero Spinelli
Rue Wiertz 60
1047 Brussels
SPEAKERS
Sergio D’Elia
Secretary of Hands Off Cain
Wei Jingsheng
Chinese political dissident
Renzo Imbeni
Deputy Chair of the European Parliament
Elisabetta Zamparutti
Editor of the 2002 Report
Sofia Hedmark
Miss Sweden World
Pamela Camassa
Miss Italy World
Marco Pannella
Author of the preface to the 2002 Report
Hands off Cain is an international association of citizens and parliamentarians which has been promoting an international campaign for a global moratorium on capital executions since 1993. We decided to strive for a moratorium because we believe it’s the best tool in our fight for the complete abolition of the death penalty. A moratorium respects the diverse social, political, religious and cultural realities of countries that still maintain the death penalty and gives public opinion time to reflect on, and national legislation to assimilate, a new human right: not to be killed following a judicial decision.
The 2002 Report is dedicated to the President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo, whose merits in the field include the successful resolution of Safiya Hussaini’s case that caused an international outcry. Nigeria continues to figure in news headlines for a second death-by-stoning sentence currently under appeal. Miss World participants present at the 2002 Report launch will appeal against boycotting the beauty contest Abuja is due to host in November and encourage mass participation to spotlight Amina Lawal’s plight and save her life.
The 2002 report confirms the trend towards the abolition of the death penalty that has been rapidly gaining momentum for the last ten years. Notwithstanding this trend, the number of executions continues to escalate. In 2001, of the 4,700 executions carried out worldwide, more than 98% were implemented in authoritarian or totalitarian countries. Hands Off Cain believes the way to combat this rising number of executions in these countries lies in the quest for democracy, the rule of law, human rights and, in particular, religious freedom.
The launch of the 2002 Report will also provide an opportunity for a briefing on the progress of Hands Off Cain’s campaign for a worldwide moratorium on executions now sponsored by the European Union and the Nazionale Italiana Cantanti. The moratorium campaign aims for the approval by the UN General Assembly of a moratorium resolution by 2003.
Contact: Rome: Elisabetta Zamparutti, tel 06 68803848 fax 06 68979211 / Brussels: Nicola Giovannini, tel 02 284 72 11- fax 02 284 92 11
ROOM 1 E03
EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT
Bat. Altiero Spinelli
Rue Wiertz 60
1047 Brussels
SPEAKERS
Sergio D’Elia
Secretary of Hands Off Cain
Wei Jingsheng
Chinese political dissident
Renzo Imbeni
Deputy Chair of the European Parliament
Elisabetta Zamparutti
Editor of the 2002 Report
Sofia Hedmark
Miss Sweden World
Pamela Camassa
Miss Italy World
Marco Pannella
Author of the preface to the 2002 Report
Hands off Cain is an international association of citizens and parliamentarians which has been promoting an international campaign for a global moratorium on capital executions since 1993. We decided to strive for a moratorium because we believe it’s the best tool in our fight for the complete abolition of the death penalty. A moratorium respects the diverse social, political, religious and cultural realities of countries that still maintain the death penalty and gives public opinion time to reflect on, and national legislation to assimilate, a new human right: not to be killed following a judicial decision.
The 2002 Report is dedicated to the President of Nigeria Olusegun Obasanjo, whose merits in the field include the successful resolution of Safiya Hussaini’s case that caused an international outcry. Nigeria continues to figure in news headlines for a second death-by-stoning sentence currently under appeal. Miss World participants present at the 2002 Report launch will appeal against boycotting the beauty contest Abuja is due to host in November and encourage mass participation to spotlight Amina Lawal’s plight and save her life.
The 2002 report confirms the trend towards the abolition of the death penalty that has been rapidly gaining momentum for the last ten years. Notwithstanding this trend, the number of executions continues to escalate. In 2001, of the 4,700 executions carried out worldwide, more than 98% were implemented in authoritarian or totalitarian countries. Hands Off Cain believes the way to combat this rising number of executions in these countries lies in the quest for democracy, the rule of law, human rights and, in particular, religious freedom.
The launch of the 2002 Report will also provide an opportunity for a briefing on the progress of Hands Off Cain’s campaign for a worldwide moratorium on executions now sponsored by the European Union and the Nazionale Italiana Cantanti. The moratorium campaign aims for the approval by the UN General Assembly of a moratorium resolution by 2003.
Contact: Rome: Elisabetta Zamparutti, tel 06 68803848 fax 06 68979211 / Brussels: Nicola Giovannini, tel 02 284 72 11- fax 02 284 92 11
