Toward a universal moratorium

Renny Cushing is in Madrid this week, where he will participate in the seminar, "Towards a universal moratorium on the death penalty: The case of Arab Countries." Renny and MVFHR received this invitation from the Human Rights Office of the Spanish Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation. The seminar is a joint project of that Ministry and of Casa Arabe, a Spanish institution that promotes analysis and research on Arab and Islamic countries. According to the invitation, the seminar

aims to analyse and debate both international legislation and concrete experiences in Arab countries about this important question, which is of great interest to the government of Spain. The seminar will provide an important opportunity to pool available knowledge, and advance prospects of achieving an international moratorium on the death penalty, making it a global achievement in accordance with UN General Assembly Resolutions 62/149 of December 2007 and 63/168 of December 2008.

Renny has been asked to speak about abolition of the death penalty for minors, pregnant women, and people suffering from mental illness. Participants are coming from Egypt, Morocco, and Lebanon -- among other countries -- and it promises to be an interesting and important gathering. We'll have a report once Renny returns.