The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2017 6. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction, and steps should be taken to ensure that such appeals shall become mandatory. 7. Anyone sentenced to death shall have the right to seek pardon, or commutation of sentence; pardon or commutation of sentence may be granted in all cases of capital punishment. 8. Capital punishment shall not be carried out pending any appeal or other recourse procedure or other proceeding relating to pardon or commutation of the sentence. 9. Where capital punishment occurs, it shall be carried out so as to inflict the minimum possible suffering. Economic and Social Council Resolution 1989/64: Implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty (24 May 1989) The Economic and Social Council, 1. Recommends that Member States take steps to implement the safeguards and strengthen further the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, where applicable, by: a. Affording special protection to persons facing charges for which the death penalty is provided by allowing time and facilities for the preparation of their defence, including the adequate assistance of counsel at every stage of the proceedings, above and beyond the protection afforded in non-capital cases; b. Providing for mandatory appeals or review with provisions for clemency or pardon in all cases of capital offence; c. Establishing a maximum age beyond which a person may not be sentenced to death or executed; d. Eliminating the death penalty for persons suffering from mental retardation or extremely limited mental competence, whether at the stage of sentence or execution;  2. Invites Member States to co-operate with specialized bodies, non-governmental organizations, academic institutions and specialists in the field in efforts to conduct research on the use of the death penalty in every region of the world; 53