The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area in federal court. All death-penalty states have adopted procedures of their own to provide experienced, competent counsel to represent indigent capital defendants in state court. In its concluding observations in response to the periodic report by the United States, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reiterated its concerns about the “persistent and significant racial disparities with regard to the imposition of the death penalty”.64 Furthermore, the Committee called for additional studies of the issue and recommended the imposition of a moratorium to ensure that the death penalty is not imposed as a result of racial bias. In June 2008, following an official state visit, the United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions noted again the issue of racism and the death penalty and further recommended a three-prong strategy to address the “rising number of innocent people being exonerated nationwide”: 1) Problems such as judicial independence and the absence of an adequate right to counsel should be addressed immediately; 2) Systematic inquiries into the workings of criminal-justice systems should be undertaken to identify needed reforms; 3) The federal courts should be able to review all substantive claims of injustice in capital cases.65 In November 2007, the special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism concluded that “any imposition of the death penalty as a result of a conviction by a military commission is likely to be in violation of article 6 [of the ICCPR]”.66 The special rapporteur therefore recommended that “the imposition of the death penalty be excluded for military tribunals or court martial”.67 64  “Concluding observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination”, UN Doc. CERD/C/USA/CO/6, 8 May 2008, para 23. 65  See UN press release, “UN Special Rapporteur Calls on the U.S. to Take Steps to Avoid Unlawful Killings”, and the press statement by Professor Philip Alston, United Nations Human Rights Council special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, 30 June 2008, <http://www.unhchr. ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/view01/73409531EE29EEF8C12574780053EFC2?opendocument>. 66  “Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms while Countering Terrorism”, UN Doc. A/HRC/6/17/Add.3, 22 November 2007. 67  Ibid. 12