Rome (Fides Service) – “There is growing support for the campaign to eliminate the death penalty and this encourages us. To be here in Rome for this World Day is a source of courage and hope”, David Atwood, director of the Texas Coalition Against the Death Penalty, told Fides Service. With many other personalities Mr Atwood is in Rome to take part in initiatives to mark World Day Against the Death Penalty with the theme “No justice without life – City for Life, City against the Death Penalty”, organised for 30 November by the S. Egidio Community with the participation of international human rights organisations and movements belonging to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty.
On Sunday 30 November cities in many parts of the world, including Brussels, Barcelona, Buenos Aires, Vienna, London, Paris, Stockholm, Santiago del Chile, joined Rome in lighting up important city monuments to say “No” to the death penalty. “The lights in the Colosseum and in many other monuments all over the world – Mr Atwood told Fides – are a great sign of hope. There is growing awareness that it is possible to live in a society of justice without capital punishment. And this is what we want to tell our country, the United States: the death penalty is not necessary, it is not a good instrument, it is contrary to the culture of life”.
Mr Atwood says the anti death penalty campaign is gathering momentum all over the world: “We have asked for a United Nations General Assembly Resolution against the death penalty, as the UN Human Rights Commission has already done. Events like this World Day can help the process of increasing awareness at the world level and international lobbying ”.
Almost five million signatures have been collected by the S. Egidio Community in its campaign for a universal suspension of executions. Recently Chile, Serbia-Montenegro and Armenia accepted to suspend executions. In the United States the number of executions has decreased. Whereas in China the number of executions in the last twelve months increased
The first World Day against the Death Penalty, City for Life – City against the death Penalty, was held on 30 November 2002. The coalition chose 30 November as the inaugural date, the anniversary of the first occasion the death penalty was abolished, said to have been in Tuscany, in 1786. (PA) (Agenzia Fides 29/11/2003 lines 36 words 387)