THE BERLUSCONI GOVERNMENT “ HAS KILLED” THE MORATORIUM RESOLUTION

the Italian government’s stance during the debate on the presentation at the UN General Assembly of a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions in the Italian Chamber of Representatives provoked a harsh response from Hands Off Cain, that accused the government of ‘killing’ the initiative.
General Secretary Sergio D’Elia declared: “With the words expressed in the Chamber of Deputies by the Under-Secretary for Parliamentary Relations Cosimo Ventucci, the Berlusconi government has finally said it wants to get rid, once and for all, of the only political initiative, that is already present at an institutional level and now fully mature, that would save thousands of lives and pave the way towards the abolition of the death penalty: the campaign for a worldwide moratorium on executions.
“The Italian government would have the moratorium resolution remain at the Commission for Human Rights, would allow moratorium initiatives only at a bilateral level and at the General Assembly would limit itself to proclamations and declamations of principles whilst sensationally renouncing of any concrete moves towards the fulfilment of the same.
The Italian government, that for months has been ignobly hiding behind the excuse of doubts expressed by unidentified European partners, has abandoned even the pro-moratorium initiative in its national capacity. Such a strategy has been considered inopportune and counter-productive. Ventucci said it would run counter to the EU’s Common Foreign and Security Policy (CFSP), but we are not aware that the death penalty issue is subject to CFSP.
“The Italian government should not hide behind the European ‘dissent’ to the presentation of the moratorium resolution to the UN this year because it was made to yield it but practically asked for it when it decided to allow the EU member states to exercise – as if the EU was the UN Security Council – a right to veto that is neither in the statutes nor normal political practice.
“Of course the Italian presidency would have run the risk of exposing itself to some ‘official’ criticism, on such an important issue and such an ambitious goal. If this may have been the case then Italy should have run the risk rather than shy away from it because for once, Italian and European public opinion would have been on the Berlusconi presidency’s side.”