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World and European Day against the Death Penalty

The Day against the Death Penalty, which is celebrated in Europe and in the world on October 10, is an opportunity to reaffirm Italy’s unconditional opposition to the death penalty: a cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment, which denies human dignity and does not allow for a remedy in the event of a judicial error. This is a consolidated priority of Italy’s foreign policy, always at the forefront of the international campaign for a universal moratorium on executions, a necessary step in view of global abolition.
This year, the world day is dedicated to women, who suffer discrimination also on this front. In September 2020 – in view of the vote on the last (biennial) resolution for the moratorium – in order to deepen the debate and share experiences on the gender dimension of the death penalty, we organized a high-level event just on the sidelines of the Ministerial week of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

In view of the negotiations for the 9th Resolution on the universal moratorium on the death penalty, which will be presented in the Third Commission of the General Assembly in 2022, we will continue to work in close synergy with civil society organizations to coordinate awareness-raising activities in the various geographical areas. The aim is to consolidate and possibly exceed the record result achieved in 2020, when 123 States out of 193 UN members voted in favour.

In line with this commitment, during the just concluded session of the Human Rights Council of the United Nations (HRC48, September 13- October 8), we have actively supported the adoption of the resolution against the death penalty, dedicated to the issue of the consequences due to the lack of transparency in the death penalty application.