Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty

A/RES/79/179View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 71bHuman rights questions, including alternative approaches for improving the effective enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms, published in 2024.

What other versions does this mandate have?

10 versions · 2008–2024

2024A/RES/79/179Moratorium on the use of the death penaltyLatestCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/77/222Moratorium on the use of the death penaltyCompare with previous version
2020A/RES/75/183Moratorium on the use of the death penaltyCompare with previous version
2019A/RES/73/175Moratorium on the use of the death penaltyCompare with previous version
2017A/RES/71/187Moratorium on the use of the death penaltyCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

1 topic

Capital Punishment

What does this mandate say?

25 operative paragraphs

Reaffirms the sovereign right of all countries to develop their own legal systems, including determining appropriate legal penalties, in accordance with their international law obligations;

Calls upon all States to establish a moratorium on executions, with a view to abolishing the death penalty;

Recalls the duty of States, regardless of their political, economic and cultural systems, to promote and protect all human rights and fundamental freedoms;

Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 77/222 and the recommendations contained therein;

Also welcomes the steps taken by some States to reduce the number of offences for which the death penalty may be imposed, as well as steps taken to limit its application, including by commuting death sentences;

Further welcomes initiatives and political leadership encouraging national discussions and debates on the possibility of moving away from capital punishment through domestic decision-making;

Welcomes the decisions made by an increasing number of States from all regions, at all levels of government, to apply a moratorium on executions, followed in many cases by the abolition of the death penalty;

Calls upon all States:

To respect international standards that provide safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, in particular the minimum standards, as set out in the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 1984, as well as to provide the Secretary-General with information in this regard;

To comply with their obligations under article 36 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, particularly the obligation of a receiving State to, without delay, inform a sending State that a national of that State has been arrested or committed to prison or to custody pending trial or is detained in any other manner, if the person concerned so requests; and the obligation of a receiving State to inform the person concerned without delay of their rights under article 36;

To make available relevant information, disaggregated by sex, age, disability, nationality and race, as applicable, and other applicable criteria, with regard to their use of the death penalty, inter alia, the number of persons sentenced to death, the number of persons on death row and the location of their detention, and the number of executions carried out, the number of death sentences reversed or commuted on appeal or in which amnesty or pardon has been granted, and according to which procedure, as well as information on any scheduled execution, which can contribute to possible informed and transparent national and international debates, including on the obligations of States pertaining to the use of the death penalty;

To ensure that any trial leading to the imposition of the death penalty complies with internationally recognized fair trial guarantees, such as a fair and public trial and the right to legal assistance, including adequate access to legal counsel at every stage of the proceedings, without discrimination of any kind, including for persons belonging to minorities and foreign nationals, bearing in mind that namely failure to respect fair trial guarantees in proceedings resulting in the imposition of the death penalty could constitute a violation of the right to life;

To progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and not to impose capital punishment for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age or whose age above 18 years at the time of the commission of the crime cannot be accurately determined, on pregnant women or on persons with mental or intellectual disabilities;

To reduce the number of offences for which the death penalty may be imposed, including by considering removing the mandatory application of the death penalty;

To ensure that those facing the death penalty can exercise their right to apply for pardon or commutation of their death sentence by ensuring that clemency procedures are fair and transparent and that prompt information is provided at all stages of the process;

To ensure that children whose parents or parental caregivers are on death row, the inmates themselves, their families and their legal representatives are provided, in advance, with adequate information about the location of their detention, a pending execution, its date, time and location, to allow a last visit or communication with the convicted person, the return of the body to the family for burial or to inform on where the body is located, unless this is not in the best interests of the child;

To provide access for persons sentenced to death to information related to the method of execution, in particular the precise procedures to be followed;

To ensure that the death penalty is not applied on the basis of discriminatory laws, including laws which target individuals for exercising their human rights, or as a result of discriminatory or arbitrary application of the law;

To improve conditions in detention for those on trial for capital crimes or on death row, by ensuring that all prisoners are treated with humanity and with respect for their inherent dignity, and complying with international standards, notably the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) and the United Nations Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (the Bangkok Rules), in particular by evaluating, promoting, protecting and improving their physical and mental health;

Calls upon States which have abolished the death penalty not to reintroduce it, and encourages them to share their experience in this regard;

Encourages States which have a moratorium to maintain it and to share their experience in this regard;

Calls upon States that have not yet done so to consider acceding to or ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty;

Urges States to ensure transparency on the imposition and application of the death penalty;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its eighty-first session on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to continue consideration of the matter at its eighty-first session under the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights”.

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