New York 13 November, 2026
Madam Chair,
Italy aligns with the Statement made by EUDEL and would like to add some remarks on its national capacity.
We wish to express our appreciation to Mexico and Switzerland for their work as co-facilitators of this year’s resolution, and for their efforts to engage constructively with all Member States.
Italy remains firmly committed to the universal abolition of the death penalty a cruel, inhuman, degrading punishment which serves neither an effective deterrent nor a guarantee of greater security, while carrying irreversible consequences in cases of judicial error.
Italy has long been at the forefront of international efforts to promote a global moratorium on the use of the death penalty and its universal abolition. Indeed, in 2007, Italy introduced the first initiative for a moratorium before the General Assembly, which has since adopted biennial resolutions.
More recently, in 2024, Italy had the honour of co-facilitating resolution 79/179, marking another important milestone in this process, with unprecedented support from the international community.
In this regard, Italy remains actively engaged as a member of the Inter-Regional Task Force (IRTF) and committed to advancing this shared objective.
We welcome this year’s resolution, which reflects an important effort to build broader support for the moratorium
We would like to underline that the move towards a moratorium, and ultimately towards abolition, has received support across all regions of the world. This resolution reflects this inclusive, cross-regional spirit and the growing momentum towards a universal moratorium of the death penalty.
In this context, we regret the submission of the amendment by Singapore. In our view, the original wording of the resolution already addressed the issue of national sovereignty in a balanced manner.
While we take note of the adoption of the amendment, we wish to reiterate Italy’s continued support for the principles and objectives underpinning this resolution. We reaffirm our support to the Resolution, firmly committed to the progressive achievement of a moratorium and, ultimately, the abolition of the death penalty.
Notwithstanding the positive trend toward abolition, the overall number of executions in a limited number of countries is on the rise. We therefore reaffirm the importance of keeping the United Nations General Assembly seized of this matter.
Thank you.
