Nessuno tocchi Caino
An Italian-founded international nonviolent NGO campaigning for the abolition of the death penalty and for humane prison policies.
Last updated August 25, 2026
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Overview
Nessuno tocchi Caino, internationally known as Hands Off Cain, is an Italian-founded, nonviolent civil-society organization focused on abolition of the death penalty and protection of human rights in criminal-justice systems. It was established in Brussels in December 1993 by members and supporters of Italy's Radical movement, initially under a name referring to an international league seeking abolition by the year 2000. The organization's Italian name comes from the biblical account in Genesis in which Cain is marked and protected from vengeance after killing Abel. It uses that story to express its central idea of justice without revenge. The organization became particularly influential through a gradualist abolition strategy. Rather than treating immediate legal abolition as the only acceptable step, it promoted a universal moratorium on executions as a political and diplomatic bridge between abolitionist and retentionist states. In cooperation with the Transnational Radical Party and Italian political actors, it pressed the Italian government and other governments to bring the issue before the United Nations. An Italian-backed draft failed in 1994, but the campaign continued through the UN Commission on Human Rights and European diplomatic channels. On 18 December 2007, the UN General Assembly adopted Resolution 62/149, its first resolution calling on states that retained capital punishment to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolition. The measure passed with 104 votes in favour, 54 against and 29 abstentions. Hands Off Cain is widely associated with the international advocacy effort that helped make the resolution possible. The General Assembly has subsequently renewed the moratorium at two-year intervals; the tenth resolution, adopted on 17 December 2024, received 130 votes in favour, 32 against and 22 abstentions. The organization supports its advocacy with research, parliamentary diplomacy, country missions, public mobilization and appeals on behalf of prisoners facing execution. Since the late 1990s it has published an annual country-by-country report on executions, death sentences and legal developments, in Italian and English. It also presents an annual Abolitionist of the Year award. Its work is conducted through contacts with governments, parliaments, international organizations and local civil-society groups, with particular attention to countries in Africa and to the relationship between capital punishment, authoritarian government and the rule of law. Its Italian agenda has broadened beyond capital punishment. The organization campaigns against deaths in custody, overcrowding and degrading detention conditions, life imprisonment without parole under the Italian ergastolo ostativo system, and aspects of the Article 41-bis prison regime. Its prison programme includes visits, legal and political initiatives, and Spes contra Spem workshops involving prisoners, prison personnel, lawyers, jurists and civil society. The phrase Spes contra Spem, meaning hope against hope, was added to the organization's public identity from 2017 and reflects its emphasis on rehabilitation and the possibility of change even for prisoners serving very long sentences. Nessuno tocchi Caino has remained closely connected to Italy's Radical political tradition while presenting itself as a transnational, transparty and nonviolent association rather than a conventional political party organization. Rita Bernardini succeeded longtime president Marco Pannella after his death in 2016, while co-founder Sergio D'Elia has served as secretary since the organization's foundation. The group was recognized by Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a development-cooperation NGO in 2005 and is a member of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Its public profile combines international abolitionist advocacy with detailed engagement in Italian prison policy, constitutional rights and the limits of punitive power.
History
Hands Off Cain was founded in Brussels on 9–10 December 1993 at a congress convened to create an international league for abolition of the death penalty. The initiative came from Radical parliamentarians Mariateresa Di Lascia and Sergio D'Elia, with the support of Marco Pannella and Emma Bonino. Di Lascia died in 1994, while D'Elia remained the organization's secretary. The name refers to Genesis 4:15, where Cain is protected from retaliatory killing, and summarizes the association's belief in justice without vengeance. From its first years, the organization pursued a moratorium as an achievable intermediate objective. It helped promote an Italian-sponsored UN draft in 1994, which failed, then continued lobbying through the UN Commission on Human Rights and European institutions. The campaign eventually contributed to the adoption of UN General Assembly Resolution 62/149 on 18 December 2007. The resolution called on retentionist states to suspend executions with a view to abolition. It was renewed every two years, with later resolutions gaining broader support. The tenth resolution, adopted in December 2024, secured 130 votes in favour. Hands Off Cain continues to argue for greater transparency about executions and for a UN Special Envoy on the death penalty. The organization developed a research and communications infrastructure around its international work. Its annual report, The Death Penalty Worldwide, records executions, death sentences, legal reforms and political developments by country. It also conducts diplomatic missions, supports parliamentary initiatives and issues appeals in individual death-penalty cases. Its work has focused strongly on Africa, where it has supported national moratoriums and abolition campaigns, while also working in the Middle East, Asia and other retentionist regions. It belongs to the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty. Following Pannella's death in 2016, Rita Bernardini became president. From 2017 the organization added Spes contra Spem to its public identity. The phrase also names a prison-focused programme developed through visits to Italian prisons and workshops at Milan's Opera prison. These activities address deaths in custody, prison conditions, rehabilitation and the treatment of prisoners under ergastolo ostativo and Article 41-bis. The association has campaigned against the Italian system of life imprisonment without parole and welcomed legal developments limiting absolute barriers to temporary release and other prison benefits. Its work has also addressed preventive measures, torture and inhuman or degrading treatment. The organization has maintained a close relationship with Italy's Radical movement but operates internationally and across party lines. It was recognized by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a development-cooperation NGO in 2005. Its activities combine advocacy, research, public campaigning, prison visits, legal argument and direct engagement with elected officials and international institutions.
- 2024
Tenth UN moratorium resolution
[4]The General Assembly approves the tenth biennial moratorium resolution with a record 130 votes in favour.
- 2017
Spes contra Spem identity adopted
[1]The organization incorporates Spes contra Spem into its public name and broadens its emphasis on prison rights and rehabilitation.
- 2016
Leadership passes to Rita Bernardini
[1]Bernardini becomes president after Marco Pannella's death.
- 2011
Expansion into systematic prison monitoring
[1]The organization begins a systematic programme of visits to Italian prisons, later associated with its Morte per pena campaign.
- 2007
UN General Assembly adopts Resolution 62/149
[3]The first General Assembly resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions passes on 18 December.
- 2005
Recognition as a development-cooperation NGO
[1]Italy's Ministry of Foreign Affairs recognizes the organization as an NGO engaged in development cooperation.
- 1999
Colosseum Illuminates Life initiative
[1]Rome begins illuminating the Colosseum when death sentences are halted or capital punishment is abolished, creating a prominent abolitionist symbol.
- 1994
First Italian-backed UN moratorium initiative
[1]An Italian-sponsored draft resolution promoted by the organization is defeated, but the campaign continues through UN and European forums.
- 1993
Foundation in Brussels
[1]The founding congress establishes an international league dedicated to ending capital punishment.
Products and positioning
A nonviolent, transnational abolitionist organization that combines evidence-based monitoring, parliamentary diplomacy and prison-rights activism. Its distinctive political approach treats a UN moratorium as a practical route toward universal abolition and frames capital punishment as a question of democracy, transparency and the rule of law.
Research publication
The Death Penalty Worldwide
An annual Italian- and English-language report tracking executions, death sentences, legal changes and political developments related to capital punishment. It is supported by a continuously updated country database and is used in the organization's advocacy with governments, parliaments and international institutions.
Prison-rights programme · 2016
Spes contra Spem
A programme of prison visits and workshops bringing together life prisoners, other detainees, prison staff, jurists, lawyers and civil society. It promotes rehabilitation, dialogue and the rejection of irreversible punitive assumptions, particularly in cases involving ergastolo ostativo and Article 41-bis.
International advocacy · 1994
UN Moratorium Campaign
A long-running diplomatic and parliamentary campaign urging retentionist governments to suspend executions and ultimately abolish the death penalty. The campaign combines country missions, international appeals, research and work around the UN General Assembly's biennial moratorium resolutions.
Controversies
2003
Dispute with Amnesty International over abolition strategy
Hands Off Cain publicly criticized Amnesty International's position on promoting a UN moratorium, while Amnesty responded that it supported a moratorium as a step toward abolition but had to remain independent of political parties. The dispute resurfaced in 2007.
Marketing campaigns
- 2018Quando prevenire è peggio che punire
Italy
The campaign criticized preventive measures such as pre-trial asset seizures and anti-mafia interdictions when imposed without a criminal conviction.
Outcome. It broadened the organization's rule-of-law agenda beyond sentences imposed after conviction.
- 2016Spes contra Spem
Italy
Monthly prison workshops began at Milan's Opera prison and elsewhere, creating structured encounters among prisoners, staff, legal experts and civil society.
Outcome. The programme became a central part of the organization's prison-rights and rehabilitation work.
- 2011Morte per pena
Italy
A campaign addressing deaths in custody and detention conditions considered incompatible with human dignity, developed from systematic prison visits.
Outcome. It helped expand the organization's Italian work from capital punishment to prison administration and detainees' rights.
- 1999The Colosseum Illuminates Life
Italy · International abolitionist movement
Rome's Colosseum is illuminated for 48 hours when a death sentence is halted or commuted, or when a jurisdiction abolishes capital punishment.
Outcome. The monument became a widely recognized visual emblem of the international abolition campaign.
- 1994Universal Moratorium on Executions
United Nations · Italy · Europe
The organization and the Transnational Radical Party began pressing Italy and international institutions to seek a UN-wide suspension of executions as a practical step toward abolition.
Outcome. The first draft failed in 1994, but sustained advocacy ultimately preceded the successful 2007 General Assembly resolution.
Brand decisions
2017
Add Spes contra Spem to the organizational identityStrategyBackground
The association increasingly focused on Italian prison conditions, life imprisonment without parole and rehabilitation alongside its international abolition campaign.
Action taken
It began presenting itself as Nessuno tocchi Caino - Spes contra Spem and integrated prison-rights work into its core public profile.
Aftermath
The organization continued its death-penalty advocacy while increasing its activity inside Italian prisons.
2007
Prioritize the UN moratorium routeStrategyBackground
The organization sought a diplomatic formula capable of attracting both abolitionist states and countries unwilling to commit immediately to legal abolition.
Action taken
It supported the Italian and European effort that brought a universal moratorium resolution before the UN General Assembly.
Aftermath
Resolution 62/149 passed on 18 December 2007 and was subsequently renewed every two years.
Recent events
- 2024
UN renews and strengthens the death-penalty moratorium[4]
Other
The General Assembly adopted the tenth biennial moratorium resolution with 130 votes in favour, 32 against and 22 abstentions.
- 2016
Rita Bernardini assumes presidency after Marco Pannella's death[1]
Leadership change
The longtime Radical activist and former parliamentarian became president following the death of Marco Pannella.
- 2007
UN General Assembly adopts first global death-penalty moratorium resolution[5]
Other
Resolution 62/149 was adopted on 18 December after years of advocacy involving Hands Off Cain, the Transnational Radical Party and Italian diplomatic initiatives.
- 2007
Public dispute with Amnesty International over moratorium strategy[1]
Other
Hands Off Cain criticized Amnesty International for not backing its preferred UN moratorium initiative, while Amnesty said it supported a moratorium as a step toward abolition but maintained organizational independence from political parties.
Sources5 sources
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