Overview This year’s edition of the Background Paper on the Death Penalty in the OSCE Area marks the 25th Anniversary of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), aiming at the abolition of the death penalty,1 and notes the increase of international discussion on the death penalty within the context of the right to life, the concept of human dignity and the absolute prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Many OSCE participating States actively engage in this debate at the international level and take steps to support the global trend towards abolition.2 Although there are no OSCE commitments requiring the abolition of the death penalty, participating States have committed themselves to limiting the use of capital punishment to only the most serious crimes and in a manner not contrary to their international commitments3 and to keeping the question of eliminating capital punishment under consideration.4 In addition, participating States that retain the death penalty in practice and/or law have pledged to ensure transparency regarding the application of the death penalty by making relevant information available to the public and to other participating States.5 To facilitate the exchange of information and compliance with these commitments, the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) reports on developments relevant to the status of the death penalty in the OSCE area through its Background Paper at the annual OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meeting (HDIM). The background paper is compiled on the basis of information provided by participating States in response to ODIHR’s questionnaire on the death 1  Fifty of the 57 OSCE participating States have ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR, as of 15 August 2014, UN Treaty Collection, Status of Ratification, Reservations and Declarations, <https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-12&chapter=4&lang=en>. 2  According to the Report of the UN Secretary General on the question of the death penalty of 30 June 2014, some 160 of the 193 Member States of the United Nations have abolished the death penalty or introduced a moratorium either in law or in practice, or have suspended executions. See UN Human Rights Council, Question of the death penalty: Report of the Secretary-General, 30 June 2014, A/HRC/27/23, <http://www.refworld.org/docid/53eb28464.html>. 3  Concluding Document of the Vienna 1989 Follow-up Meeting, paragraph 24, <http://www.osce.org/mc/16262>. 4  Document of the 1990 Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE, paragraph 17.7, <http://www.osce.org/odihr/elections/14304>. 5  Ibid. paragraphs 17.7 and 17.8. 5