ITALIAN PARLIAMENT FAILS TO BIND GOVERNMENT TO PRESENT MORATORIUM RESOLUTION TO 2003 UNGA

the Italian Chamber of Representatives approved Thursday two motions presented by government MPs that generically require the government to “despite the verified lack of consensus currently at a European level, continue in every forum the intensive political and diplomatic action to arrive at a worldwide abolition of the death penalty and to cultivate among the European partners and the entire United Nations membership a consensus for a strong pronouncement by the UN in favour of a general moratorium on capital executions.”
The motions, tabled by Andrea Ronchi (AN) and Giuseppe Naro (UDC) obtained 236 votes in favour from the centre-right groups and 202 against from the opposition. Both majority motions were approved after the government intervened to modify the texts that had previously called on the government to present the moratorium resolution at the ongoing UN General Assembly.
The opposition, that presented two similar motions, refused to modify the request to the government to act during the GA currently in session and its motions were rejected. Before the vote, HOC, warning that the Italian government would once again attempt to weaken the motions, had called on opposition MPs to oppose the approval of a vague text.
Reacting to the vote, Hands Off Cain Secretary-General Sergio D’Elia said the Italian EU presidency has passed up on what may have been its last chance to score before the end of its term.
“There is one word to describe the government’s handling of the moratorium resolution proposal: failure. The government should not try to justify itself by hiding behind the European dissent because instead of trying to overcome this dissent, the Italian presidency fed it, amplified it and as demonstrated in the Italian Chamber today, shares it.
“In July, Italy had six countries expressing dissent to the initiative. In the space of a few weeks it managed to make them 15, not just the European partners but even itself! With its doubts, its lack of conviction and therefore credibility, the Italian government not only consolidated in Europe the stance of the fundamentalist abolitionists, but literally killed off the only concrete and reasonable means of moving towards abolition in a shortened time-span, that is the worldwide moratorium on executions through a UN resolution.
“In judging the behaviour of the Italian government the choice is now limited to: a demonstration of political mediocrity or a lack of operative ability. In any case the Italian government has shown itself unequal to the situation in terms of both its beliefs, if it ever really held these beliefs, and its own convenience. The end of Italy’s term presidency is near and there does not seem to be any prospect of chalking up a result that the Italian government can describe a success.”