International Cities for Life Day

The death penalty has been abolished in many countries around the world as the most morally inhumane way of depriving a criminal of his life. However, human rights organizations still continue to fight for the abolition of this type of punishment in China, the USA, Japan, India, Saudi Arabia and other countries. To this end, the World Coalition against the Death Penalty was founded in Rome in 2002. Every year on November 30, events are held to mark the International Day of Cities for Life. More than 80 large settlements from Canberra, Australia to Santiago, Chile, took part in the first action, carried out on the initiative of the Catholic Community of Sant'Egidio. In 2003, the number of cities increased to 150, of which 15 were capitals of states. According to tradition, in honor of the holiday, participants highlight one of the main attractions - a monument or building. In this way, the Colosseum in Rome, St. Anne's Square in the center of Madrid, and the Atomium in Brussels are "revitalized" every year. For the first time, a moratorium on the death penalty and torture in Europe was imposed by a decree on November 30, 1786, by the Duke of Tuscany and Archduke Leopold II of Austria. That is why this day became the date of celebration of Cities for Life Day. The Age of Enlightenment was marked by many discoveries and achievements in various spheres of human activity. In 1764, Cesare Beccaria's book “On Crimes and Punishments” was published, in which the Italian writer and philosopher was one of the first to present arguments against the use of the death penalty. His work was devoted to the reform of criminal law, which must comply with the moral and rational principles of human existence. Beccaria opposed torture and the death penalty for criminals, regardless of the gravity of the illegal act. In addition to the moral aspect, the imposition of capital punishment is associated with the risk of condemning an innocent person. History knows of cases where errors of the investigation, the court and the jury led to the fact that citizens of Great Britain, China, the USA and other countries were undeservedly sentenced to death by electric chair and by hanging. Human rights activists and simply concerned people believe that reform of the criminal system will save the lives of hundreds and even thousands of innocent people. The geography of Cities for Life Day is constantly expanding. In 2005, in support of the moratorium, the “Africa for Life” campaign was held, in which ministers from 14 countries of the continent took part. The goal of all activities is to carry out penal reform at the global level and completely prohibit the death penalty on the planet. In 2010, the International Day was celebrated in 1,360 cities around the world. Every year new countries and capitals join the action, incl. those in which the death penalty has not been abolished. In addition to illuminating buildings, protesters organize flash mobs and other events aimed at introducing a moratorium on capital punishment for criminals.