The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2019 non-discriminatory.69 Awareness needs to be raised about the discriminatory aspects of the application of the death penalty and its disproportionate use against those most marginalized.70 The standard is evolving toward the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances because its application inevitably leads to violations of both Article 6 and Article 7 of the ICCPR and, however it is applied, it is an inherently cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. It is, moreover, important for all actors to address the underlying reasons for continuing support for the death penalty. These include the lack of public awareness about its complexities and a lack of political will to abolish it. As advised after the 7th World Congress, it would be beneficial “to carry out more research on the death penalty, including to make women on death row visible and to demystify arguments used to retain the death penalty, including public opinion, deterrence, terrorism.”71 Crucially, governments should exert their political leadership to ensure the abolition of the death penalty (and not its reintroduction) is kept under consideration, in line with their international human rights obligations and OSCE commitments, while simultaneously encouraging constructive public dialogue aimed at changing public perceptions and generating support for the abolition of the death penalty. ODIHR welcomes that the vast majority of participating States in the OSCE remain committed to keeping the complete abolition of the death penalty under consideration.72 2. Other aspects of the situation of the death penalty in the OSCE area 2.1 Retentionist participating States Belarus and the United States continue to be the only two retentionist participating States in the OSCE region, maintaining the application of the death penalty both in law and in practice. 69  “Human Rights Council holds high-level panel on the death penalty, in particular with respect to the rights to non-discrimination and equality”, OHCHR news, 26 February 2019, <https://www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/ Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24215&LangID=E>. 70  General Comment No. 36, op. cit., note 10; and: “Human Rights Council holds high-level panel on the death penalty, in particular with respect to the rights to non-discrimination and equality”, op. cit., note 69. 71  “Final Declaration”, 7th World Congress against the death penalty, March 2019, <http://www.worldcoalition. org/media/resourcecenter/7congress-FinalDeclaration-EN.pdf>. 72  Consider that 55 OSCE participating States voted in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution 73/175 moratorium on the use of the death penalty. For a list of domestic measures that states can take towards abolition see: “The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2018”, op. cit., note 3, p. 8. 21