As part of a Hands Off Cain delegation Marco Cappato,...

As part of a Hands Off Cain delegation Marco Cappato, Lista Bonino MEP, was in Senegal gathering consensus for a UN moratorium on capital executions.
The country is a de facto abolitionist and was amongst the first to ratify the statute of the International Criminal Court.
Mrs Bassine Niang, Minister without portfolio for peace and human rights, declared on behalf of the President of the Republic that "with the fundamental laws of January 7, 2001, Senegal abolished the Special Tribunals and included within the Constitution the right to life.
The UN moratorium on capital executions is fundamental and is part of a gradual process of evolution. For now the President can only give you his support, whilst waiting for Parliament to abolish the practice on an internal level.
We can't but give our support to this battle. The right to life is sacred; in order to abolish the death penalty, it is good to do so gradually with your innovatory approach, which we support.
Before meeting you I met with our President; we are already tackling the issue and in 2001 we created a working committee with the purpose of creating a data bank. For this reason I can say I speak also on behalf of the President, to whom I will give a briefing of this meeting."
Cappato later met with Ousmane Tanor Dieng, General Secretary of the Socialist Party (the main opposition party), who declared himself in favour of a moratorium on executions.
Seidi Gassama, President of Amnesty International Senegal, shared the belief that the moratorium would be a step towards abolition and intended to keep an eye on the government and its commitments to support a moratorium resolution.