SPAIN. SENATE HEAD CALLS FOR UN MORATORIUM ON EXECUTIONS

Hands Off Cain presented the Spanish edition of its 2004 Report – the Death Penalty Worldwide at the Spanish senate in Madrid. The event saw interventions by the President of the Spanish senate, Javier Rojo, Convergencia i Uniò (CiU) deputy and member of the country’s Foreign Commission, Jordi Xuclà, and the editor of the report and HOC treasurer, Elisabetta Zamparutti. Also present were the director of the Foreign Ministry’s human rights department José Antonio de Ory and co- editor Rodriguez-Antiguedad. 
During his opening speech, President of the Senate Javier Rojo said that Spain should lead the global movement for a universal moratorium on executions via the presentation of a resolution at the UN General Assembly commencing next September. 
For this reason, stated President Rojo, Spain should actively work towards the approval by the UN of a resolution for a universal moratorium on executions as an intermediary step towards the complete abolition of executions in the world.
“I’m against the death penalty in principle and not for reasons tied to its application”, stated President Rojo, who declared himself against capital punishment also in the case of terrorism.
Of the 131 UN member states 82 that have completely abolished the death penalty, 12 have abolished it for ordinary crimes, 1, Russia, is engaged in abolishing the death penalty as a Council of Europe requirement, 5 are observing a moratorium on executions and 31 are de facto abolitionist. There are 60 UN member states which retain the death penalty. Twenty nine of these carried out a total of 5,600 executions in 2003, 99% of these executions were carried out in authoritarian or illiberal regimes.
“Our data shows that the fight against the death penalty is a fight for democracy and human rights,” said Elisabetta Zamparutti who criticized the European Union for not bringing the resolution to the General Assembly both in 1999 and in 2003 so as not to damage its relationships with countries such as China and Iran.