Summary

In his first report to the General Assembly, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions set out his vision, which included monitoring the implementation of standards relating to the imposition of capital punishment (A/76/264). The Special Rapporteur is now calling for inputs, from all States and interested stakeholders, to inform his forthcoming report on the death penalty, to be presented at the 77th session of the General Assembly. The Special Rapporteur would be particularly interested in receiving information focusing on two aspects: 1) the impact of the death penalty on individuals sentenced to death, their family members and other persons concerned; and 2) on the circumstances surrounding the enforcement of the death sentence, including the methods of execution, and the treatment of bodies of the executed.

Background

States that have not abolished the death penalty and that are not parties to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, or other treaties providing for the abolition of the death penalty can apply the death penalty only in a non-arbitrary manner, for the most serious crimes and subject to a number of strict conditions¹.

Over the years, the death penalty has been analysed from different perspectives, including that of the absolute prohibition of torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment².

In his 2009 report, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment explored whether the death penalty was compatible with the prohibition of cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment under international law (A/HRC/10/44). The Special Rapporteur subsequently concluded that “a new approach [was] needed as there [was] evidence of an evolving standard (…) to frame the debate about the legality of the death penalty within the context of the fundamental concepts of human dignity and the prohibition of torture (…), [which was] developing into a norm of customary law, if it [had] not already done so” (see A/67/279, para. 74). The Human Rights Committee also recognized the death row phenomenon as a possible breach of Article 7 of the ICCPR and considered that, when the death penalty is imposed, it must be carried out in a manner that causes “the least possible physical and mental suffering”³.

The Special Rapporteur is calling for inputs on:

• treatment of individuals sentenced to death, including conditions on death row and access to family members and legal representatives;
• impact of the death penalty on family members, including children of parents sentenced to death;
• impact of the death penalty on other individuals, including prison officers, executioners, and medical practitioners involved in the execution.
• information provided to individuals on death row, their families, and legal representatives in the lead-up to executions (e.g. date of execution, visits prior to the execution date, etc.)
• methods of execution, including existing safeguards to prevent physical pain and suffering; and
• treatment of bodies of the executed, including the place of burial and the return of bodies.

1. See Human Right Committee, General Comment no. 36, Article 6: right to life (CCPR/C/GC/36) – Part II and Part IV in particular

2. See also A/HRC/36/27, A/HRC/10/44, and A/HRC/19/61/Add.4.

3. See A/HRC/30/18