The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2017 Children of parents sentenced to death or executed abroad States must also offer support for children of parents sentenced to death abroad. At times, affected children may be found in the same country with the convicted parent or may be in the country of origin or even in a third country. However, whatever the location, the state of nationality has a role to play in supporting these children. Children in the same country as their convicted parent need to be returned home to other family members or another carer who is competent enough to take care of the child or stay near the parent, depending on various factors, such as the child’s age and the availability of suitable caregivers. As such, the state has to make sure that children are able to participate and be heard in decisions about alternative carers. In other words, states should make sure that alternative care is necessary and must guarantee that the alternative care option provided is deemed appropriate. Children in the country of origin must be given assistance financially or provided with means to communicate or even visit parents convicted abroad. In addition to this, sometimes children may seek answers to certain questions regarding the parent’s death sentence or may even need reassurances of state commitment to assist in their predicament. As such, the state has to make available well-equipped institutions that operate over a wide area and are well-placed to provide adequate information on services available to these children. These support systems can help reduce the severity of post-traumatic stress disorder in children and also serve the particular therapeutic needs of children of death row inmates. States should also provide support through social aid schemes that will cover the living expenses, school fees and medical expenses of such children. In all this, it is imperative that the state informs children of available support. The criminal justice system and other state authorities must provide this information orally or in documented forms especially in languages children of different ages and stages of development can comprehend.55 Measures taken by OSCE participating States to protect children who have a parent facing the death penalty abroad In the OSCE region, in relation to safeguards provided for children whose parents have been sentenced to death, participating States generally do not have in place specific legislation for these situations. In most cases protection is given to those in such situations through general rules and legislation governing the protection of children’s rights. Belarus informed that there are special measures in place to provide assistance to children whose parents have been sentenced to death. Women are exempted from the death penalty but in cases when a father with dependents 55  Sussex Legal Memo, op. cit., note 5, pp. 8-9. 20