No to thedeath Penalty

Transcription

1 No to the Death Penalty

2 The Community of Sant Egidio The Community of Sant Egidio was created in the high schools of Rome in 1968 on the initiative of an 18 year-old student, Andrea Riccardi. Through the years Sant Egidio and Andrea Riccardi have won the Niwano Peace Prize, the Unesco Peace Prize and the Balzan Peace Prize, conferred in the past upon Pope John XXIII, Mother Teresa and UNHCR. In 2009 it received the Charlemagne Award, previously bestowed upon the founding fathers of the European Union, for its contribution to the development of Europe and a conception of international relations based on human rights and North-South interdependence. Gospel, friendship, helping the poor and a commitment to justice are the cornerstones of the activities of more than 60,000 members, who on a voluntary basis work in 73 countries alongside the poor, in dialogue with everyone, believers and non-believers alike. Founded in Italy, today over a third of the Community s members live in Africa and the world s South.

3 In the World: with the poor, human rights, dialogue and peace Wherever the Community of Sant Egidio goes, it stands beside the homeless, the aged, the immigrants, the gypsies, the helpless, prisoners in 80 jails around the world, including those on death row, the disabled, the terminally ill and the street urchins in an innovative way, combining friendship, concrete aid and civil battles for the defence of human rights and dignity. Engaged in the battle against xenophobia and intolerance, the Community of Sant Egidio promotes ecumenical and inter-religious talks and takes concrete legislative and local initiatives to promote coexistence between cultures, religions and ethnic groups, especially after the events of September 11, 2001, in a period marked by the temptation of believing in a clash between civilizations. On the international scene, the actions of the Community of Sant Egidio are characterized by a local and global approach, by the non profit nature of its members activities and by its intense work on behalf of peace, which through time has ended conflicts and civil wars and, in its quality as official mediators and facilitators, in collaboration with others, it has opened paths of national reconciliation. Peace in Mozambique, the ending of the civil war in Guatemala, support for the democratization of Albania, the peace process in Burundi, the commitment in the Great Lakes and in other areas of conflict in the world, from Algeria to Darfur, from North Uganda to Togo, the reunification of the Ivory Coast, the end of the civil war in Liberia, the innovative processes of preventive peace built in Niger and Guinea Conakry to exit from authoritarian and military regimes without bloodshed, plus health care diplomacy and the creation of one of the broadest and most effective anti- Aids programs in sub-saharan Africa in ten countries of the continent (DREAM), a worldwide campaign for birth registration and citizenship for invisible children (BRAVO): these are some of the most important aspects of Sant Egidio s commitment to peace and respect for human rights. The worldwide effort against the death penalty falls into this network of international activity as a particular commitment to the defence of human rights and dignity, and the promotion of a system of justice capable of respecting human life.

4 Sant Egidio and the Death Penalty Since the second half of the 1990 s the fight against capital punishment has become one of the spheres of global engagement and a priority of the Community of Sant Egidio. A synthesis of several violations of human rights, the death penalty always represents a form of mental torture for the condemned person; it contradicts a rehabilitative conception of justice, lowers society as a whole to the level of killer, legitimizes a culture of death at its highest level on the part of the state while claiming to defend human life; finally it disproportionately affects political, ethnic, religious and social minorities, thus humiliating the whole society. The Community of Sant Egidio started by concretely approaching death row inmates, through visits, correspondence, legal defence and humanization of prison conditions. Through the years it has become a leading player in the battle for a universal moratorium and the abolition of the death penalty all over the world. In these years it promoted letter exchanges, direct contacts and the defence of over 300 people sentenced to death in different parts of the world; it contributed to the founding in 2002 in Rome, at the Community s headquarters in Sant Egidio square, of the World Coalition against the Death Penalty; it promoted the worldwide Movement of Cities for Life, Cities against the Death Penalty, joined by over 1,600 Cities. All over the world in just 10 years; it drafted an appeal for a Universal Moratorium endorsed by leaders of the world s major religions as well as more than five million people, believers and non believers, in 153 countries, which was presented to the United Nations on the eve of the historic vote in the General Assembly in a resolution rejecting the death penalty as a means of justice (2007); it launched the International Day of Cities against the Death Penalty, which takes place every year on November 30 - on the anniversary of the first abolition of the death penalty on the part of a State, the Gran Duchy of Tuscany on November 30, 1786; it supported and negotiated with death penalty countries to bring them around to abolition, from Burundi to Gabon, from Uzbekistan to Kazakhstan; it promotes each year at least one International Conference of Justice Ministers as a laboratory of dialogue and an international workshop on the issue of abolition, which year after year involves both retentionist and abolitionist countries in a common meeting-ground. Since its creation, the Community of Sant Egidio has been elected a member of the executive board of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty since its creation.

5 Consciousness raising and education of civil society In the past few years, the Community of Sant Egidio has intensified its activities to make the public aware of the battle against the death penalty in several parts of the world, through public debates and assemblies in schools, parishes, town halls, with the help of local groups and NGO s. Corresponding with death row inmates is one of the principal actions for raising awareness about the death penalty and interrupting the isolation of prisoners sentenced to death. It s a way to humanise prison conditions, even on death row. There are more than 1,500 convicts on death rows in the United States, Cameroun, Zambia and Caribbean countries, who exchange letters with pen pals on a regular basis. This was started by the Community of Sant Egidio but is open to others, individuals and organizations. WWW. The web site of the campaign for the abolition of the death penalty is which is also accessible from the Community s own site, and has a permanent link with the site of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty ( It is an instrument of updated and active information as well as the starting point of campaigns and urgent appeals and of initiatives in support of individual death row convicts, humanitarian organizations and activists all over the world. The large number of supporters of Urgent Appeals made the website an instrument of international action at the disposal of other organizations as well, thanks to the international network of contacts and people linked to the Community of Sant Egidio. Working side by side with the website is a permanent Research Group, responsible for monitoring the application of the death penalty in various regions of the world as well as for handling contacts with local groups involved in the defence of human rights and in the abolitionist battle, offering a network of support and international liaison. At the same time, the urgent appeals and actions on the ground on a country by country basis, on the levels of grass roots and government officials, represent the culmination of a humanitarian and lobbying effort which turned out to be particularly effective, thanks to the inter-cultural and diplomatic network developed by the Community of Sant Egidio in its conflict resolution and national reconciliation activities. A permanent point of observation is focussed on African and Central Asian countries. The Community of Sant Egidio is a member of the Asian regional coalition ADPAN and has supported the establishment of a Caribbean Coalition against the Death Penalty, in cooperation with the major humanitarian groups of the area.

6 The International Conferences of Justice Ministers for the abolition of the death penalty: a permanent abolitionist laboratory for the world s South Annual Conferences of Justice Ministers, jurists, Supreme Court members from countries which have abolished the death penalty - and those which still maintain it - have been organized for the purpose of developing new strategies and common meeting grounds. In the first few years, special attention was devoted to Africa, a continent in rapid transformation, utilizing legislative, social, parliamentary and public opinion venues in order to reach first a reduction, followed by an end to the executions, leading all the way to de facto or legal abolition of the death penalty. The International conferences - which each year gather a growing number of participating countries - represent the laboratory of a method of operation that continues at all levels, from civil society to discussions with leaders and political representatives. One of the most significant result of such Conferences is the increase of countries which voted in favour of the resolution on the abolition of the death penalty at the United Nations General Assembly. In the year 2014 the Conference of Justice Ministers organized by Sant Egidio will take place in Manila, with the participation of 9 Asian countries representatives. The Community of Sant Egidio, with its commitment in over 25 African countries, in Asia and Latin America, is actively involved in dialogues for humanitarian and peace-making purposes, trying to identify local solutions for a positive contamination in the reduction of violence and the use of the capital punishment. Recently the work of Sant Egidio has facilitated the process of Constitutional revision in several countries i.e. in Mongolia, where the death penalty was abolished in 2012, after 2 years of moratorium. Within the Regional Conferences against the death penalty, which really represent a new mode of Intervention and a fruitful experience, the first International Conference on the Death Penalty in the Great Caribbean was organized in Madrid in October 2011 with the support of the Spanish Government. International observatory on Death Penalty and urgent Appeals The website publishes every year a lot of news, the result of a monitoring of major international newspapers and press agencies, including the newspapers and agencies of countries which maintain the death penalty. The articles published enrich a database available on-line, which has become a valuable instrument of work and study for all those carrying out research in this field. But on more than one occasion, in countries with limited international communications, it is a way of finding out in due time about cases, accusations and death penalty trials and of launching local, judicial and mobilization initiatives which sometimes succeed in reducing the impact of capital punishment. The urgent appeals in these cases require the direct involvement of activists through the web. The signers of the appeal must contact the government institutions of the country involved in the death sentence, either through a personal letter or through the web pages. They are requested to apply pressure on the governments in question by fax, letters or other initiatives, which can be taken from time to time. It is known that pressure applied this way helped to attain a positive solution in several instances. no to the death penalty

7 The Movement of Cities for Life Cities against the Death Penalty On November 30 of each year, more than 1,600 cities, including many capital cities, in more than 85 different countries celebrate the International Day of Cities for Life, Cities against the Death penalty with mobilizations, marches, sit-ins, performances, public assemblies, in schools and universities, as well as official statements of support from city and citizen council representatives. All cities taking part in the initiative make their major monuments available as living logos, which speak with special illuminations, thus becoming symbols underlining a commitment and dialogue with the population in favour of a world without the death penalty. The International Day of Cities for Life, Cities against the Death Penalty represents, along with the World day against the Death Penalty on October 10, the biggest modern planetary mobilization in favour a higher and more civil form of justice capable of repudiating once and for all capital punishment. The purpose is to establish a dialogue with civil society, elicit the involvement of public administrations in the effort to attain the abolition of the death penalty and turn commemoration of the day it into a continuous practice and identifying characteristic of the cities and populations that participate, including those in death penalty countries. In that way new occasions arise for involving broader segments of society, in abolitionist and non-abolitionist countries, strengthening the initiative of local activists and organizations in an international network. The Coliseum in Rome, lit up in special colours, has become a universal symbol of the abolitionist battle, offering international visibility to places in the world which have taken major steps on the path to abolition or a lasting moratorium: New Jersey and New Mexico celebrated their abolitions in 2007 and 2009, Connecticut in 2011, Maryland in 2013, Chile and other countries before that. The Day of Cities for Life, Cities against the Death penalty represents the culmination of a week of abolition events and an occasion for global and local mobilization. The letter of presentation to the various cities and the responsibility of the initiative are open to all abolitionist groups and can be organized not only by the Community of Sant Egidio, but also by humanitarian groups and activists on a city to city basis. That way other international organizations, associations and local groups can use it either as an occasion for raising the awareness of the citizenship, of specific groups (students, teachers, jurists, opinion leaders, administrators, witnesses, the press, journalists) or an occasion for mobilization and broadening consensus for their own initiatives, strengthening their effect on the local population and membership. The website puts over 1,600 Cities for Life on the internet, publishing information about the initiatives that are organized for the International Day Cities for Life, Cities Against the Death Penalty. The global message is summed up in the phrase No Justice without Life and

8 To support the Campaign, write to a convict on death row and for more information: abolition@santegidio.org To make a donation to the Campaign for the Abolition of the Death Penalty and the International Defence Fund for death row inmates: Account no Comunità di S.Egidio-ACAP Onlus IBAN: IT67D SWIFT: BPPIITRRXXX The Movement of Cities for Life Cities against the Death Penalty the activities take place between November 29 and 30 as well as being spread out during the course of the year as part of a campaign of varying intensities aimed at involving local administrations on a permanent basis. In some cases a Fund for Legal Assistance of death row inmates, twinning between cities, artistic and educational programs and the support of the media emerged from these events. The cities that take part in Cities for Life have at their disposal a space in the website where they can publicize their initiatives for the campaign (illumination of monuments, public events, conferences, theatrical shows, etc.) and hook up with the links of pages of different sites Through the membership form on the website tens of new cities ask each year to participate in the campaign. It is possible to download an organizing kit and contact the coordinating office (info@citiesforlife.net) for a joint signing of the presentation letter, get access to existing material for mobilization and communications (videos, statements from international figures, invitations to take a meaningful stand) and learn about the initiatives taking place elsewhere in the world in order to offer anyone who wants to become engaged and city officials a list of gradual initiatives and actions. Online donations: No to the Death Penalty

9 With the contribution of the European Commission Progetto grafico: Stefano Novelli - Stampa: Essetre Roma Community of Sant Egidio Piazza di S.Egidio, 3/a Roma - Italy