The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2021 In November 2020, the General Assembly of the European Youth Forum, a platform for over 100 European youth organizations, adopted a Resolution on the abolition of the death penalty in Belarus, initiated by the Belarusian National Youth Council “RADA”.267 In December 2020, the UN General Assembly passed resolution 75/183 with a record number of 123 supporting states. It calls for the establishment of a moratorium on executions with a view to fully abolishing the death penalty and introduced new elements in comparison to previous years. 268 It recognizes that the death penalty is often applied in a discriminatory manner against women. It also calls for enhanced protection of children, calling on states to not impose the death penalty on people who are younger than 18 years old at the time of the offence. This resolution also notes the importance of civil society, “in pursuing local and national debates and regional initiatives on the death penalty.” 269 In February 2021, the UN Biennial High Level Panel on the Death Penalty took place in the framework of the UN Human Rights Council session, challenging the idea that capital punishment has a deterrent effect on crime. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet noted that the deterrent effect has been debunked, and that, rather, numerous states have seen a decline in murder rates after abolition. She also noted how criminal justice systems are not “mistake-proof”, how the death penalty often disproportionately affects those marginalised in society, and that it causes severe mental and physical suffering.270 Many subsequent statements delivered strong messages against the death penalty, condemning its use as a breach of the right to life.271 In March 2021, ahead of the Fourteenth United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice,272 the Death Penalty Project issued a statement advocating for the inclusion of the abolition of the death penalty as an integral component of programmes to prevent crime and improve criminal justice systems globally.273 267 Viasna, На Европейском молодежном форуме приняли Резолюцию об отмене смертной казни в Беларуси (At the European Youth Forum a death penalty abolition resolution was adopted), 25 November 2020. 268 United Nations Digital Library, United Nations General Assembly, “Moratorium on the use of the death penalty”, UN Doc. A/RES/75/183, 28 December 2020. 269 Ibid.; ECPM, Together Against the Death Penalty, UN Resolution for a Universal Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty. Analysis of the 2020 Vote. 270 Statement by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, 23 February 2021. 271 Grace O’Connor, UN High Level Panel on the Death Penalty and Deterrence, World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, 25 February 2021. 272 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, 14th United Nations Congress on Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice, March 2021. 273 The Death Penalty Project, UN Crime Congress: abolition of the death penalty must be an integral part of crime prevention programmes and criminal justice reforms, 5 March 2021. 61