Brussels, 24/09/2003 (Agence Europe) - A campaign requesting EU Member States support the European Parliament proposal for presenting a resolution for a universal moratorium on capital punishment to the United Nations General Assembly was launched on Wednesday in Paris, indicated AFP. During the press conference, Marco Pannella, Italian MEP on the list of non-attached and President of the Italian, "Hands of Cain" association, considered that such an EU resolutions had a good chance of obtaining the majority of votes a the UN general assembly. After Paris, Mr Pannella is travelling to Madrid, London and Brussels. French Green, Noel Mamère, who organised the press conference and who supported the initiative of Mr Panella, "the moratorium is a necessary stage before abolishing the death penalty". Its campaign also got the support of George Ryan, former Governor of Illinois in the USA who decided at the end of his mandate in January 2003 to commute 167 death sentences to life imprisonment, explained AFP.