WHEREAS the United Nations General Assembly adopted resolution 62/149 on December 18, 2007, calling for a worldwide cease of executions.

Amnesty International calls on countries that continue to use the death penalty to establish an immediate moratorium on executions as a first step towards abolishing capital punishment.

Many countries around the world continue to execute prisoners in violation of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Canada has fully abolished the death penalty for all crimes.

The death penalty is inconsistent with the fundamental values of our democratic system and is an intolerable denial of civil liberties as miscarriages of justice have occurred with the executions of innocent people and individuals suffering from mental illness.

We must therefore seek to prevent executions and abolish capital punishment through litigation, legislation and commutation.

NOW THEREFORE, I, Mayor David Miller, on behalf of Toronto City Council, do hereby proclaim November 30, 2009 as "Cities for Life Day" in Toronto and encourage everyone to join in the campaign to have the death penalty abolished worldwide.