The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2021 is carried out in a manner consistent with the state’s international obligations, and maintained that it is a matter for individual countries to decide.180 A change, however, has been signalled with the election of Joseph R. Biden as the new President of the United States, who supported death penalty abolition during his election campaign. His campaign platform advocated that, “Because we cannot ensure we get death penalty cases right every time, Biden will work to pass legislation to eliminate the death penalty at the federal level, and incentivize states to follow the federal government’s example.”181 Following his inauguration, in March 2021 UN human rights experts called on the newly elected President to do everything in his power to halt and end executions at the federal and state level, highlighting how this practice is irreconcilable with the right to life. They also remarked how the death penalty disproportionately affects African-Americans and people living in poverty, and is often imposed following violations of due process guarantees.182 A coalition of international NGOs also urged the new President to act on his promise of commuting all death sentences, and reinstating the federal moratorium on its use.183 They noted how capital punishment perpetuates patterns of racial and economic oppression, endemic to the American criminal justice system. Moreover, the NGO coalition called for: dismantling the federal death chamber at the Terre Haute penitentiary center; rescinding the lethal injection protocol; establishing clear executive guidelines to prohibit federal prosecutors from seeking the death penalty; withdrawing authorization for all pending death penalty trial cases; and instituting a federal moratorium.184 180 “Right of Reply: Regarding the Death Penalty” OSCE Permanent Council, 8 October 2020, “Right of Reply: Regarding the Death Penalty” OSCE Permanent Council, 14 May 2020, “Right of Reply: Regarding the Death Penalty” OSCE Permanent Council, 2 July 2020, “Right of Reply: Regarding the Death Penalty” OSCE Permanent Council, 23 July 2020 and “Right of Reply: Regarding the Death Penalty” OSCE Permanent Council, 17 December 2020. 181 Death Penalty Information Center, Democratic Legislators Introduce Death Penalty Repeal Bills, Urge President Biden to Commute Federal Death Sentences, 20 January 2021. 182 OHCHR, USA: UN experts call for President Biden to end death penalty, 11 March 2021. 183 The Leadership Conference, ACLU, Amnesty International, LDF, Letter to Joe Biden, 26 January 2021. Outside of the reporting period, on 30 June 2021, U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a directive formally pausing federal executions while the Department of Justice (DOJ) undertakes a review of executive branch policies adopted in the last two years of the Trump administration. 184 Ibid. 45