The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2019 matter how it is applied.31 A majority of OSCE participating States have stated that they consider the death penalty a cruel, inhuman or degrading form of punishment, 37 of whom made statements in this regard during this reporting period.32 Recent developments in the torture-free trade discussions can be seen as a positive step towards establishing a firmer link between torture and capital punishment. On 24 September 2018, the first Ministerial meeting for the Alliance for Torture-Free Trade33 took place in New York on the margins of the UN General Assembly. As a result, the Alliance issued a joint communique, in which they committed to the advancement of a draft resolution to establish common international standards for the import, export and transfer of goods used for capital punishment, torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.34 Although not within the reporting period of this paper, it is worth mentioning that the UN General Assembly adopted a subsequent resolution on 21 June 2019.35 However, some states, also within the OSCE region, stated that they would not support the resolution because of the connection made between capital punishment and torture, emphasising that they have the sovereign right to impose the death penalty and this is not a violation of international law, unlike torture.36 This demonstrates the potentially problematic effects of linking the death penalty with torture, as this could weaken the anti-torture movement; for example, states that have not ratified the UN Convention against Torture (CAT) and have not abolished the death penalty may be less willing to proceed with ratification.37 Despite the evolving human rights standard, there is still resistance (or at least a lack of consensus) from some states about the position of the death penalty in international law and the need for its eventual abolition. 31  See introductory essay and Chitat Ng v. Canada , op. cit.,., See also introductory essay of Juan E. Mendez in “The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2016”, op. cit., note 3. 32  Including statements during the reporting period to the OSCE Permanent Council from Norway, Andorra, Iceland, Liechtenstein, San Marino, Switzerland, Canada, Mongolia, Holy See and EU member states. 33  The Alliance for Torture-Free Trade is an initiative of Argentina, the EU and Mongolia. 34  “Alliance for Torture-Free Trade Joint Communique”, 24 September 2018, <https://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/un-new-york_en/51030/Alliance%20for%20Torture-Free%20Trade%20Joint%20Communique%20-%20 24%20September%202018>. 35  UN General Assembly, Towards torture-free trade: examining the feasibility, scope and parameters for possible common international standards, U.N. Doc. A/73/L.94, 21 June 2019. 36  “General Assembly Adopts Texts on Torture-Free Trade, Assisting Terrorism Victims, Anniversary of Cairo Population Conference”, UN, 28 June 2019, <https://www.un.org/press/en/2019/ga12160.doc.htm>. 37  All OSCE participating States have, however, already ratified the CAT. 15