The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area in on the national or international levels regarding the death penalty, potential cases before international judicial or quasi-judicial bodies, nationals facing the death penalty abroad and safeguards for children. This 2015 background paper covers the period from 1 July 2014 to 30 June 2015. In particular, it provides information on changes and developments with regard to the status of the death penalty in the OSCE area that have occurred since the publication of the 2014 background paper.3 ODIHR seeks to systematically cover death penalty related developments in all participating States, including those that have abolished it. Thus, the 2015 background paper provides information following the European Court of Human Rights’ decision in the case of Al Nashiri vs. Poland. In addition to providing an overview of trends in 51 abolitionist participating States, the background paper focuses on four de-facto abolitionist states – Kazakhstan, Mongolia, Russia and Tajikistan – and two that have retained the capital punishment: Belarus and the United States of America. As these two retentionist states are obligated under OSCE commitments to keep its abolition under consideration, the background paper seeks to present a comprehensive review of the status of the death penalty in both, with special attention given to topics pertinent to the public discussion of abolition in each country, where available. The trend towards the abolition of the death penalty has continued during this reporting period as well. The Mongolian parliament has considered a revised penal code that would completely abolish the death penalty from national legislation.4 On 13 February 2015, in the United States, the governor of Pennsylvania introduced a moratorium on executions.5 On 27 May 2015, the state of Nebraska abolished the death penalty, becoming the 20th state within the United States to do so.6 A high-level event during the 69th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly took place on 25 September 2014: Moving Away from the Death Penalty: National Leadership. The event served as an opportunity for discussion among Member States, with a special focus on political leadership and leaders’ role in moving away from the death penalty. Moreover, the event saw the launch of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) publication Moving Away from 3  For earlier developments, see The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area – Background Paper 2014, (Warsaw:OSCE/ ODIHR, September 2014), <http://www.osce.org/odihr/124105>. 4  “Death Penalty 2015: The Good and the Bad”, Amnesty International, 27 July 2015, <http://www.amnestyusa.org/ news/news-item/death-penalty-2015-the-good-and-the-bad>. 5  “Pennsylvania’s governor suspends the death penalty”, The Washington Post, 13 February 2015, <http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2015/02/13/pennsylvania-suspends-the-death-penalty/>. 6  “Nebraska Bans Death Penalty, Defying a Veto”, the New York Times, 27 May 2015, <http://www.nytimes. com/2015/05/28/us/nebraska-abolishes-death-penalty.html?_r=0>. 6