PART II 5 INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS STANDARDS The UN Safeguards Guaranteeing the Rights of Persons Facing the Death Penalty state that:  The death penalty shall only apply to the most serious crimes, i.e., intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences;  A death sentence shall not be carried out on new mothers or on persons who are mentally incapacitated;  The death penalty may only be imposed when the guilt of the person charged is based upon clear and convincing evidence leaving no room for an alternative explanation of facts. The Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR abolishes the death penalty, as does Protocol No. 6 to the ECHR, which all Council of Europe members must ratify. Individual complaints regarding capital punishment would be appropriate matters for follow-up by OSCE field operations if any of the standards or safeguards listed above have been violated. For more detailed information on the death penalty in the OSCE context, see The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area: Background Paper 2003/1.19 5.1.2 EXTRAJUDICIAL, SUMMARY, OR ARBITRARY EXECUTIONS An arbitrary execution is the killing of a person by an agent of the state or any other person acting under government authority or with its complicity, tolerance, or acquiescence, but without due judicial process. Extrajudicial, summary, or arbitrary executions take place outside the judicial process and are illegal under national and international law. Examples of such executions include:  Killings carried out by order of a government or with its consent, e.g., by “hit squads”, paramilitary groups, or secret police;  Killings of civilians by members of the armed forces in violation of the laws of war;  The death of an individual while in the custody of law enforcement officials or other official capacity if the death is not followed by an official inquiry;  Death resulting from abuse or excessive use of force by law enforcement officials;  An execution in which the due process of law, in particular the minimum guarantees as set out in Articles 6, 14, and 15 of the ICCPR, has not been respected. 19 OSCE/ODIHR Background Paper for the Human Dimension Implementation Meeting, October 2003, available from the ODIHR in book form or on the ODIHR website at http://www.osce.org/odihr. 42