UN. FIRST IRAQI ACT WITHOUT SADDAM WAS TO BACK A RESOLUTION FOR A UN MORATORIUM

There had never been such a high number of co-sponsors. This year saw Iraq, Samoa and Kiribati sign the text for the first time. The result means that there have now been 92 countries which have sponsored the resolution at UN level since it was first presented and approved in 1997.
“Iraq’s case is quite extraordinary,” declared Hands Off Cain Secretary Sergio d’Elia, “and it once again shows that for many countries the definitive solution to the problem lies not only in the fight against the death penalty but in the fight for democracy and for human rights. The fact that Saddam is not there anymore has led the country to suspend the application of the death penalty and to express itself for a moratorium on executions at international level.”
In its “2004 Report – The Death Penalty Worldwide” due to be published soon, Hands Off Cain registered at least 113 executions in Iraq in 2003, the majority of which took place following summary trails and all taking place prior to April 9, the date of the toppling of Saddam’s regime. Since then, the application of the death penalty in Iraq has been put to a halt by the Coalition Provisional Authority, although it remains in the country’s laws and it is quite probable that it be reintroduced in the new Constitution.