The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2018 (36.1) They note i. that the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty entered into force on 11 July 1991; ii. that a number of participating States have recently taken steps towards the abolition of capital punishment; iii. the activities of several non-governmental organizations concerning the question of the death penalty. Document of the Copenhagen Meeting of the Conference on the Human Dimension of the CSCE (Copenhagen 1990) 17. The participating States 17.1 recall the commitments undertaken in the Vienna Concluding Document to keep the question of capital punishment under consideration and to co-operate within relevant international organizations; 17.2 recall, in this context, the adoption by the General Assembly of the United Nations, on 15 December 1989, of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty; 17.3 note the restrictions and safeguards regarding the use of the death penalty which have been adopted by the international community, in particular Article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; 17.4 note the provisions of the Sixth Protocol to the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, concerning the abolition of the death penalty; 17.5 note recent measures taken by a number of participating States towards the abolition of capital punishment; 17.6 note the activities of several non-governmental organizations on the question of the death penalty; 17.7 will exchange information within the framework of the Conference on the Human Dimension on the question of the abolition of the death penalty and keep that question under consideration; 37