82 The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area International Safeguards Pregnant women and minors Women and individuals who were below the age of 18 at the time of the crime cannot be sentenced to death.211 Fair-trial guarantees The UN special rapporteur on the question of torture described the use of torture in Uzbekistan as systematic. He also reported a lack of respect for the principle of presumption of innocence, a lack of independence of the judiciary, and discretionary powers of the prosecutor with respect to access to detainees by legal counsel and relatives.212 Both the UN Human Rights Committee and the UN Committee against Torture have expressed their concern about the lack of independence of the judiciary in Uzbekistan.213 In addition, the UN Human Rights Committee has also expressed its concern about “the continuing high number of convictions based on confessions made in pre-trial detention that were allegedly obtained by methods incompatible with article 7 of the Covenant [prohibition against torture or other ill-treatment]”.214 Individual complaints to the UN Human Rights Committee Uzbekistan has ratified the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR and thereby recognizes the competence of the UN Human Rights Committee to consider complaints from individuals claiming that their rights under the ICCPR have been violated.215 In cases concerning the death penalty, the UN Human Rights Committee can issue urgent requests to suspend the execution of a death sentence while the case is pending before the Committee. In considering communications from individuals in Uzbekistan on issues relating to the death penalty, the UN Human Rights Committee found a number of violations of the ICCPR, including of Article 6 (right to life), Article 7 (prohibition against torture and other ill-treatment), Article 10 (1) (right of persons deprived of their liberty to be treated with humanity) and Article 14 (right to a fair trial).216 The Committee found that the death sentence had been pronounced without meeting the require211 Article 51 of the Criminal Code. This article also stipulates that men over the age of 60 at the time of sentencing cannot be sentenced to death. 212 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture, Mission to Uzbekistan, E/CN.4/2003/68/Add.2, 3 February 2003. 213 Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee, Uzbekistan, CCPR/CO/71/UZB, 26 April 2001; Concluding observations/comments of the Committee against Torture, CAT/C/CR/28/7, 6 June 2002; Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Uzbekistan, CCPR/CO/83/UZB, 26 April 2005. 214 Concluding observations of the Human Rights Committee: Uzbekistan, CCPR/CO/83/UZB, 26 April 2005, para. 10. 215 216 Uzbekistan acceded to the Optional Protocol to the ICCPR on 28 September 1995. CCPR/C/80/D/917/2000, 29 March 2004, para. 6; CCPR/C/86/D/915/2000, 19 April 2006, para. 8.