A/HRC/31/57/Add.1 actually applied renders the punishment tantamount to torture and that under many other, less severe conditions, it still amounts to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment (para. 75). 410. The Special Rapporteur recalls that the execution of persons who are mentally disabled is per se a violation of an existing norm of customary international law (para. 64). 411. As further observed in the Special Rapporteur’s 2012 report to the General Assembly (A/67/279), conditions on death row are often worse than those of the rest of the prison population and often include lengthy and anxiety-ridden wait for uncertain outcomes, isolation, drastically reduced human contact and even sometimes worse physical detention conditions which can produce several mental trauma and physical deterioration in prisoners (“death row phenomenon”) (para. 42). 412. The Special Rapporteur calls upon all States to reconsider whether the use of the death penalty per se respects the inherent dignity of the human person, causes severe mental and physical pain or suffering and constitutes a violation of the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (para. 79). 413. The Rapporteur strongly condemns the sentence of death imposed on Mr. Hayat and concludes that the Government of Pakistan, in sentencing a person suffering from a severe psychosocial disability to death,, and failing to protect his physical and psychological integrity, has violated his right to be free from torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, as provided by articles 1 and 16 of the Convention Against Torture and article 7 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 414. The Rapporteur calls on the Government to take all necessary interim measures to ensure the full protection of Mr. Hayat against any violation of his human rights, including the commutation of his death penalty. The rapporteur strongly urges the Government to refrain from carrying out death sentences and abolish the practice of executions. (g) JUA 3/08/2015 Case No. PAK 7/2015 State Reply: 05/08/2015 Allegations concerning the case of Mr. Shafqat Hussain, allegedly a juvenile offender, who was sentenced to death for murder of a child on the basis of a confession obtained through torture, and his execution on 4 August 2015. 415. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Pakistan for its reply, dated 5 August 2015, to the present communication. The Special Rapporteur regrets to have learned that Mr. Shafqat Hussain was executed on 4 August 2015. 416. The Rapporteur acknowledges the Government’s account in response to the allegations, legal obligations, and questions raised in the initial communication. He welcomes the information provided by the Government that it is examining the existing provision of its Criminal Procedure Code and its Penal Code to determine if the scope of death penalty can be narrowed. 417. The Rapporteur takes note of the information provided by the Government with regards to the Inquiry Committee established to consider the case. Nevertheless, the Government’s reply fails to inform the Rapporteur about measures taken to determine the absence of witness intimidation and evidence tampering during the investigation, and about the lack of opportunities to present the case in front of a judicial authority. Moreover, the reply does not address the allegations that the Mr. Hussain’s confession was obtained under torture. 418. As observed by the Special Rapporteur in his 2012 report to the General Assembly (A/67/279), there is evidence of an evolving standard within international bodies and a robust State practice 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 and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. This evolving standard, along 71