The UN Secretary-General's report on the death penalty holds Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries responsible for the sharp increase in global executions, which rose by 59% in 2022 compared to 2021, with Saudi Arabia alone accounting for 24% of these executions.
In his annual report, covering the period from July 2022 to June 2024, the Secretary-General relied on submissions distributed to countries, national institutions, UN governmental, international, regional entities, and NGOs to gather information on the death penalty. The report heavily references information provided by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights (ESOHR) through both individual and joint submissions, as well as its reports.
The report stressed that countries that have not yet fully abolished the death penalty should be on an irreversible path towards its complete elimination both de facto and de jure, in the near future. It emphasized that the death penalty is incompatible with full respect for the right to life.
The report noted that around 170 countries have either abolished the death penalty, imposed a moratorium on it, either in law or in practice, or have halted executions for more than 10 years.
During the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of the Human Rights Council, many states provided recommendations to countries that still retain the death penalty. These recommendations included ratifying or considering ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aimed at abolishing the death penalty, taking appropriate measures to eliminate the death penalty, commuting all existing death sentences to alternative punishments, imposing an official moratorium on executions with the goal of abolishing the death penalty, abandoning all efforts to extend the use of the death penalty, abolishing it for drug-related offenses, publishing annual data on the death penalty as a first step towards its elimination, and ending the death penalty for non-violent crimes, as well as for children and persons with disabilities.
Restrictions on the Use and Scope of the Death Penalty
During the reporting period, there was a steady increase in the number of known executions worldwide, despite a decrease in the number of countries carrying out executions. These figures reflect a global trend where a decreasing number of states that retain the death penalty are significantly increasing the number of executions.
In November 2022, the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that executions were taking place almost daily over a two-week period in Saudi Arabia after authorities ended an informal 21-month moratorium on the use of the death penalty for drug-related offenses.
Transparency and the Use of the Death Penalty
In its resolution 54/35, the Human Rights Council urged states that have not yet abolished the death penalty to systematically and publicly provide complete, accurate, and relevant information, disaggregated by gender, age, nationality, race, disability, and other applicable criteria, regarding their use of the death penalty.
The Council noted that such information can contribute to informed and transparent national and international discussions, taking into account that access to reliable information on the imposition and application of the death penalty enables national and international stakeholders to understand and assess the scope of these practices. Nevertheless, obtaining accurate global figures on the use of the death penalty remains challenging.
Safeguards Ensuring the Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty
The Human Rights Council reaffirmed the safeguards ensuring the protection of the rights of individuals facing the death penalty, which represent the minimum internationally recognized standards that must be adhered to by states that continue to impose the death penalty:
Restricting the Use of the Death Penalty to the "Most Serious Crimes"
The Human Rights Committee emphasized that the term "most serious crimes" must be interpreted narrowly and should only apply to extremely grave crimes involving intentional killing. The committee noted that crimes not directly resulting in intentional death, such as drug-related offenses, despite their serious nature, cannot serve as a basis for imposing the death penalty under the right to life.
The Human Rights Committee further stated that, under no circumstances, should the death penalty be applied as punishment for behavior that constitutes a violation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including forming opposition political groups or insulting a head of state.
Fair Trial Guarantees
According to the Human Rights Committee, violations of the fair trial guarantees enshrined in Article 14 of the ICCPR in proceedings that lead to the imposition of the death penalty render the sentence arbitrary in nature and constitute a violation of the right to life.
These violations include the use of coerced confessions, lack of effective representation, excessive and unjustified delays, general lack of fairness in the criminal process, and lack of independence or impartiality in the trial or appeal.
The report noted that some death sentences were issued after arbitrary arrests, failure to respect due process and fair trial guarantees, and allegations of torture in countries including Saudi Arabia. Additionally, the Committee Against Torture and several Special Procedures mandate holders expressed concern and outrage over the lack of due process and fair trials in many death penalty cases in countries including Saudi Arabia.
The Right to Seek Pardon or Commutation of Sentence
Article 6(4) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) obligates state parties to allow any person sentenced to death to seek pardon or commutation of the sentence. It specifies that pardon or clemency may be granted only after court approval, and this opportunity must be provided in all death penalty cases.
Use of the Death Penalty Against Children and Persons with Psychosocial or Intellectual Disabilities
minors
The report emphasizes that the Convention on the Rights of the Child prohibits the imposition of the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under the age of 18 at the time of the offense. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has stated that Article 37(a) reflects the customary international law prohibition on imposing the death penalty for crimes committed by persons under 18, and that the clear and decisive standard is the age at the time of the crime. It clarifies that if there is no reliable and conclusive evidence proving the individual was over 18 at the time of the offense, the person has the right to benefit from the doubt, and the death penalty cannot be imposed.
The report notes that nine young men, all children at the time of their arrest, face the imminent threat of execution in Saudi Arabia, despite the 2020 royal decree abolishing the death penalty for individuals who were minors at the time of their alleged crime. The report also states that information is currently being tracked on 68 individuals, including nine children, who have been sentenced to death under Saudi Arabia’s anti-terrorism laws.
Gender Dimensions of the Death Penalty
Article 6(5) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) prohibits state parties from executing pregnant women, and the safeguards ensuring the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty extend to new mothers.
During the reporting period, there was an increase in the execution of women in Saudi Arabia, from one woman executed in 2022 to six women executed in 2023.
Human Rights of Children of Parents Sentenced to Death
According to the Human Rights Committee, states must refrain from executing individuals whose execution would have extremely harsh consequences on them and their families, such as parents of very young or dependent children. In its resolution 48/9, the Human Rights Council called on states to ensure that children of those sentenced to death are provided with sufficient information about the execution, allowed a final visit or contact with the convicted individual, and that the body is returned to the family for burial or information about its whereabouts is provided.
Conclusions and Recommendations:
- • The report recommended that states still using the death penalty adopt a moratorium on executions with the aim of abolishing it, emphasizing that under international human rights law, the death penalty may only be imposed for the "most serious crimes," consistently interpreted as crimes involving intentional killing.
- • States were urged to abolish mandatory death penalties. Until then, states should implement a process that considers the personal circumstances of the offender and the specific circumstances of the crime, including its aggravating or mitigating factors, to review all cases where the death penalty has been mandatorily imposed.
- • States were encouraged to ensure the effective implementation of legal safeguards and protective measures, including the right to seek pardon and the commutation of sentences through procedures that guarantee basic protections.
- • The report urged states to ensure transparency regarding the imposition and application of the death penalty by systematically and publicly providing complete, accurate, and detailed data on death penalty sentences to facilitate fully informed public debate on its scope and human rights impacts.
- • In the absence of reliable and conclusive evidence that an individual was not under 18 at the time of the crime, states should give the individual the benefit of the doubt and ensure that the death penalty is not imposed.
- • States were also called upon to prohibit the imposition of the death penalty on individuals with psychosocial or intellectual disabilities.
- • States that still use the death penalty should urgently provide a protective environment for the children of parents sentenced to death or executed, prevent discrimination, stigma, and distress, and offer support based on the principle of the child's best interests.