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Death penalty abolition in Europe is just the beginning, says PACE President

Iran Materials 1 February 2007 15:28 (UTC +04:00)

(www.coe.int) вЂ" Speaking at the third World Congress Against the Death Penalty in Paris today, Council of Europe Parliamentary Assembly (PACE) President RenР№ van der Linden welcomed the highly symbolic step taken by the AssemblР№e Nationale, to inscribe abolition of the death penalty in the French Constitution.

He announced that the PACE Standing Committee, meeting in Paris on 16 March, will hold a debate to support Italy's initiative in the United Nations to abolish the death penalty worldwide, reports Trend.

Underlining that he was proud of PACE's success in making the Council of Europe a de facto death-penalty free zone, he stressed that, however, PACE did not consider abolition in Europe as the end of the road. "Our achievement is an example of what can be done throughout the world, with the right conviction and political courage. PACE is already taking its arguments to the world stage, using our direct links with politicians and civil society to campaign for abolition in, for example, the United States, Japan and Kazakhstan," he said.

"My hope is that this Congress will mark a turning point in the struggle to abolish the death penalty, once and for all, throughout the world," Mr van der Linden concluded.

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