Call for Global Moratorium on the Death Penalty

Zenit news reports today that this past Friday, a delegation led by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty and the Community of Sant'Egidio delivered a petition to the United Nations signed by 5 million people from 154 countries calling for a global moratorium on the death penalty.  The leader of the delegation expressed the view that "the death penalty lowers the state and civil sociaty to the level of a killer, and that while some defend a culture of life, they wind up legitimating a culture of death."  Permanent observer of the Holy See to the U.N., Archbiship Celestino Migliore, stated that the death penalty "undermines human dignity" and that "the right to life is the proper context in which to deal with the [death penalty] becuase if we respect life in all its stages -- from the womb to the tomb -- we really can adequately resolve the issue."

Zenit further reports that the U.N. General Assembly's human rights committee is expected to vote on the moratorium later this month.  A positive vote there would result in a vote being put to the General Assembly of the U.N. in December.