The European Union will draft a resolution to present to the United Nations that calls for a worldwide moratorium on state-ordered executions.

Italy and Germany, which holds the rotating presidency of the E.U. through June, were given a mandate Monday by foreign ministers to draft the text, Italy’s Foreign Minister Massimo D’Alema said. The document, which was lobbied for by the Italian government, will be presented to the General Assembly by September at the latest, he said.

“The E.U. ministers have conferred upon Italy and the German presidency the unanimous mandate to prepare the text,” Mr. D’Alema said late Monday in Brussels. The step is a “European success, of which Italy is the main originator.” The Italian government is leading the E.U. lobby to pressure for a U.N. resolution against the death penalty worldwide.

The European Parliament last month backed a motion that calls on the E.U. to present the resolution.

State-ordered executions fell more than 25% last year worldwide, compared with 2005, while China remains the country that most frequently resorts to capital punishment, Amnesty International said last month. China, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq, Sudan, and America committed 91% of all executions last year.

Prime Minister Prodi of Italy and his coalition have been outspoken about the need for a resolution. Brazil, South Africa, and New Zealand have expressed their support for the resolution, and the European Union hopes to count the Philippines, India, Senegal, Chile, and Mexico among its advocates, Italian daily Corriere della Sera reported yesterday.

The Philippines abolished the death penalty last year, while Mexico did away with the practice in 2005.