The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area on its use available to the public. Chapter 2 thus provides an overview of the international standards on the death penalty that have been developed by the OSCE, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the European Union. Chapter 3 includes information on each relevant country’s legal framework, statistics on sentences and executions, and information on compliance with international standards. This chapter is based primarily on information received from the participating States. Finally, a copy of the questionnaire that was sent to the participating States requesting information on the use of the death penalty is attached as an annex together with the relevant OSCE commitments and other international standards and a ratifications table. Recommendations made at OSCE Human Dimension Implementation Meetings are also annexed. I hope that this background paper will be useful to governments and civil society alike in the further debate on issues related to capital punishment and its possible abolition. Ambassador Christian Strohal ODIHR Director vi