MEP Marco Cappato went to Ghana to obtain political...

MEP Marco Cappato went to Ghana to obtain political backing for the moratorium proposal on capital executions at the forthcomming UN General Assembly. Ghana is a de facto abolitionist country.
It hasn't carried out capital executions since 1973, but is listed as a retentionist state by Amnesty International. When the EU presented the moratorium proposal to the General Assembly in 1999, Ghana sided in favour of an amendment put forward by Singapore with the purpose of inserting in the resolution preamble a UN Charter article in defence of states' internal sovereignty.
Since then important political changes have changed the country's outlook: in December 1999 the country ratified the statute of the International Court which excludes the death penalty for crimes against humanity. Moreover December 2000 saw the first democratic elections in the country, bringing to victory current President John Kufour, a devout Catholic.
Cappato also met with Ghanian Vice Minister for Justice Akwasi Osei-Adjei who declared that the initiative for a UN moratorium on executions come at the right time as one of the government's current priorities is that of "good governance", especially via justice reforms. Vice Minister for Justice Gloria Akuffo appreciated Hands Off Cain's pragmatic approach in relation to Ghana's situation, where executions had not taken place for over 30 years.
She underlined the fact that President Kufour recently issued amnesty to 2,000 prisoners, including a few sentenced to death.
She believed it highly feasible that the government could take a favourable stance to Hands Off Cain's proposal.
Leader of the opposition, Alban S.K. Bagbin, is a fervent abolitionist and gave us assurances he would personally speak with the Foreign Minister.
The Commissioner for Human Rights Emile Short also gave her backing to Hands Off Cain's proposal, saying she would personally help in the campaign in such a way so as to present it as above party factions.