The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2017 the effect of capital punishment on children of parents sentenced to death or executed abroad. Many states outside the OSCE region continue to apply the death penalty including for non-lethal, drug related offences.9 As a consequence, there are hundreds of foreign nationals who are facing the death penalty in those states, including citizens of OSCE participating States. Hence, participating States should consider the possibility of their citizens being sentenced or executed abroad and the impact on their children.10 Human Rights, including the right to be free from torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of children of parents sentenced to death or executed It is increasingly recognized that aside from people sentenced or executed, their children are similarly considered relevant victims and rights holders.11 The impact of the death penalty on a child can constitute a violation of the child’s rights under international human rights law, as recognized by international human rights bodies.12 OSCE commitments and legal framework With the Copenhagen Document in 1990, OSCE participating States decided to accord particular attention to the recognition of the rights of the child, including children’s civil rights and individual freedoms, economic, social and cultural rights, and the right to special protection against all forms of violence and exploitation.13 Moreover, with the Declaration on Youth adopted on 5 December 2014, the OSCE Ministerial Council recalled the OSCE commitments relating to youth and children, which are enshrined in the Helsinki Final Act and other relevant OSCE 9  “The Death Penalty for Drug Offences”, Harm Reduction International, <https://www.hri.global/the-deathpenalty-doesnt-stop-drug-crimes>; see also “Which countries have the death penalty for drug smuggling?”,The Economist, 29 April 2015, <https://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2015/04/economist-explains-28>. 10  Helen Kearney, “The death penalty: a child rights issue and a public health issue”, Freedom From Fear Magazine, Issue 9, 2014, pp. 66-71, <http://f3magazine.unicri.it/wp-content/uploads/F3_09.pdf>. 11  “Can the children of parents sentenced to death or executed be considered victims of torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment?”, Quaker United Nations Office, February 2017 , at 2, <http://www.quno.org/sites/ default/files/resources/QUNO_2017%20HRC%20statement%20flyer_updatedv3%20%28002%29.pdf>. 12  Francis Ssuubi, “The impact of the Death Penalty on the children with a parent on death row or executed”, in OHCHR, Death Penalty and the Victims (2016), p. 190, <https://www.eda.admin.ch/content/dam/eda/en/documents/aussenpolitik/menschenrechte-menschliche-sicherheit/death-penalty-and-the-victims-2016_EN.pdf>; see also UN Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/22/11/L.18, Panel on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed; UN Human Rights Council resolution A/HRC/19/L.31, Rights of the Child; UN Human Rights Council resolution A/ HRC/30/L.11/Rev.1; UN Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, A/67/279 (9 August 2012), para. 52; UN Human Rights Committee, Concluding Observations Japan (2008), CCPR/C/ JPN/CO/5, para.16. 13  Copenhagen Document, op. cit., note 1, para. 17.7 and 17.8. 11