The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area 2. Ratification of this Protocol or accession thereto shall be made through the deposit of an instrument of ratification or accession with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. Article 4 This Protocol shall enter into force among the States that ratify or accede to it when they deposit their respective instruments of ratification or accession with the General Secretariat of the Organization of American States. European Union ­­­­——— Extract from the Charter of the Fundamental Rights of the European Union Article 2 Right to Life 1. Everyone has the right to life. 2. No one shall be condemned to the death penalty, or executed. ­­­­——— Extract from the Guidelines on EU Policy Towards Third Countries on the Death Penalty III. Minimum standards paper Where states insist on maintaining the death penalty, the EU considers it important that the following minimum standards should be met: (i) Capital punishment may be imposed only for the most serious crimes, it being understood that their scope should not go beyond intentional crimes with lethal or other extremely grave consequences. The death penalty should not be imposed for non-violent financial crimes or for non-violent religious practice or expression of conscience. 40