The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area 95
basis of gender-discriminatory legislation, policies or practices and the disproportionate use of the death penalty against persons belonging to national or ethnic,
religious and linguistic minorities;
4. Welcomes the seventh quinquennial report of the Secretary-General on capital
punishment and implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of
the rights of those facing the death penalty (E/2005/3), submitted in accordance
with Economic and Social Council resolutions 1745 (LIV) of 16 May 1973,
1995/57 of 28 July 1995 and Council decision 2004/242 of 21 July 2004, which
concludes that there is an encouraging trend towards the abolition and restriction
of the use of the death penalty in most countries, but that much remains to be
done in the implementation of the aforementioned safeguards in those countries
that retain it;
5. Calls upon all States that still maintain the death penalty:
(a) To abolish the death penalty completely and, in the meantime, to establish
a moratorium on executions;
(b) Progressively to restrict the number of offences for which the death penalty
may be imposed and, at the least, not to extend its application to crimes to which
it does not at present apply;
(c) To make available to the public information with regard to the imposition
of the death penalty and to any scheduled execution;
(d) To provide to the Secretary-General and relevant United Nations bodies
information relating to the use of capital punishment and the observance of the
safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty;
6. Calls upon all States parties to the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights that have not yet done so to consider acceding to or ratifying the Second
Optional Protocol to the Covenant, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty;
7. Urges all States that still maintain the death penalty:
(a) Not to impose it for crimes committed by persons below 18 years of age;
(b) To exclude pregnant women and mothers with dependent infants from capital punishment;
(c) Not to impose the death penalty on a person suffering from any mental or
intellectual disabilities or to execute any such person;
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