ITALY CALLS FOR UNITED EUROPEAN FRONT AGAINST DEATH PENALTY

the Italian government said it will campaign to abolish the death penalty worldwide, using its position as one of 15 UN Security Council members. It wants the European Union to support its efforts.
Italy asked the European Union for support in its bid to impose a global moratorium on the death penalty in the wake of Saddam Hussein's execution.
"I believe this must constitute one of the top commitments of our international efforts because it is urgent to have an initiative to put an end to the barbarianism of the death penalty," Italian Foreign Minister Massimo D'Alema told news agency ANSA.
Italy, a largely Catholic country, was shocked by televised images of the former Iraqi dictator hanging. It is now leading diplomatic efforts to bring about a global ban on capital punishment.
Meanwhile, the head of Italy's Radical Party, Marco Pannella, agreed to be hospitalized as he entered the second week of his hunger strike to push for a worldwide moratorium on capital punishment.