Mario Marazziti, spokesperson for Comunità di Sant’Egidio, will open the 3rd World Congress against Death Penalty, which will take place in Paris from tomorrow to 3rd February 2007, at the Cité Internazionale Universitarie. The Congress is organised by the World Coalition against Death Penalty, promoted in 2002 by Comunità di Sant’Egidio, along with Ensemble contre la pein de mort, Amnesty international and International penal reform. Comunità di Sant’Egidio has been engaged for years in the defence and promotion of human rights across the world, and, especially in the last few years, it has concentrated its international efforts in the fight against death penalty and has supported the Appeal for a Universal Moratorium, which has collected over 5 million subscriptions in 150 countries across the world. In addition, in 2002 Comunità di Sant’Egidio launched, with the city of Rome and the Region Tuscany, the world campaign "Cities for life-Cities against death penalty", which now brings together 600 cities across the world, many capitals and cities of countries where death penalty is still in force. The Campaign has its highlight on November 30th each year, the anniversary of the first state abolition in Western history, which took place on the initiative of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany on November 30th 1786.
