Death_Penalty_2005_nowy.qxd 2005-09-08 17:00 Page 13 THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE OSCE AREA 3. THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE OSCE AREA The participating States that retain the death penalty in some form have committed themselves to ensuring transparency by making information about its use available to the public.27 This publication facilitates compliance with this commitment by providing a forum for participating States to make such information available on an annual basis. This chapter is comprised of country entries on the nine participating States that retain the death penalty in some form. Unlike in 2004, this part of the paper does not include Greece, which took steps to fully abolish the death penalty during the reporting period. Each country entry contains information on relevant international instruments, the country’s legal framework, statistics, and compliance with international safeguards. First, the section on “relevant international instruments” lists the legally binding instruments the state has ratified. Second, the section on the “legal framework” outlines those crimes for which a death sentence can be imposed. It is in this section that trends towards reduction in scope or abolition are presented. Third, the section on “statistics” indicates the number of death sentences that have been imposed and executed during the reporting period. Fourth, the section on “international safeguards” provides information on compliance with the international standards that were outlined in Chapter 2. Methodology It is the ODIHR’s intention that the content of each country entry should be based primarily on information provided by the participating States themselves. Accordingly, a questionnaire on the use of the death penalty was sent to each of the relevant states. The questionnaire, which is reproduced in Annex 3, requested detailed information on each state’s legal framework, statistics on sentences and executions, and information on compliance with the international standards outlined in Chapter 2. Of the nine participating States that retain the death penalty, seven responded to the questionnaire: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, the Russian Federation, the United States of America, and Uzbekistan. Albania and Tajikistan did not respond. In some instances, the information received from the participating States was not complete. Therefore, it has been complemented by information received from other sources, including OSCE field presences, intergovernmental organizations, non-governmental organizations, and media reports. 27 Copenhagen Document 1990, Paragraph 17.8. 13