Capital punishment in Europe rights became a particular priority. The Kingdom of Italy had abolished the death penalty for civilians with the adoption of the Zanardelli Penal Code of 1889, but the Fascists had reintroduced it with the 1930 Penal Code. The European Convention on Human Rights was adopted in 1950, but some countries took many years to ratify it. The United Kingdom retained the death penalty for high treason until 1998; however, this technicality was superseded by the absolute ban on the death penalty in 1976. William Joyce was the last person to be put to death for high treason in the UK,
United Nations moratorium on the death penalty on Civil and Political Rights and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, "Reaffirming" its resolutions 62/149 of 18 December 2007 and 63/168 of 18 December 2008 on the question of a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, in which the General Assembly called upon States that still maintain the death penalty to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing it, "Mindful" that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the implementation of the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable, "Convinced" that a moratorium on the use of the death penalty contributes to respect