Call to action on 10 October

People across Asia are encouraged to get involved in the fourth World Day Against the Death Penalty on 10 October.

We are encouraging participation in 2006 by Asian organisations and individuals, including those concerned with criminal justice, human rights and effective responses to crime.

This year's theme is "The Death Penalty: a Failure of Justice", highlighting the many failures of death penalty systems, from the execution of innocent people to discrimination and unfair trials.

Organisers expect hundreds of events will be held on all five continents, raising public awareness that "the death penalty is not justice".

For World Day 2005, more than 260 events were organised in 46 countries, and 42,300 people signed an international petition calling on African heads of state to abolish the death penalty.

Materials available
The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty has produced a grassroots mobilisation kit for activists, including suggestions for activities you can organise, as well as sample letters and petitions for five people who have been sentenced to death or executed.

The five cases, illustrating different failures of justice, are from China, Saudi Arabia, Nigeria, Iran and the United States of America.

The activist kit, posters and graphics can be downloaded from the World Coalition's website.

If you organise an event for the World Day, please notify the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty so they can include the details on their website.

Cities for Life
Following the World Day, the Rome-based Community of Sant' Egidio is organising the international Cities for Life event from 28-30 November.

Over these three days, cities and towns around the world will light up their public buildings, or other places that symbolically represent the city, to affirm the value of life and show their opposition to the death penalty.

For more information about Cities for Life - Cities against the Death Penalty, see the Sant' Egidio website.