The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area–Background Paper 2017 5. Further welcomes initiatives and political leadership encouraging national discussions and debates on the possibility of moving away from capital punishment through domestic decision-making; 6. Welcomes the decisions made by an increasing number of States from all regions, at all levels of government, to apply a moratorium on executions, followed in many cases by the abolition of the death penalty; 7. Calls upon all States: (a) To respect international standards that provide safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, in particular the minimum standards, as set out in the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 1984, as well as to provide the Secretary-General with information in this regard; (b) To comply with their obligations under article 36 of the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations,7 particularly the right to receive information on consular assistance; (c) To make available relevant information, disaggregated by sex, age and race, as applicable, and other applicable criteria, with regard to their use of the dea th penalty, inter alia, the number of persons sentenced to death, the number of persons on death row and the number of executions carried out, the number of death sentences reversed or commuted on appeal and information on any scheduled execution, which can contribute to possible informed and transparent national and international debates, including on the obligations of States pertaining to the use of the death penalty; (d) To progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and not to impose capital punishment for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age, on pregnant women or on persons with mental or intellectual disabilities; (e) To reduce the number of offences for which the death penalty may be imposed; (f) To ensure that those facing the death penalty can exercise their right to apply for pardon or commutation of their death sentence by ensuring that clemency procedures are fair and transparent and that prompt information is provided at all stages of the process; (g) To establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty; 8. Calls upon States which have abolished the death penalty not to reintroduce it, and encourages them to share their experience in this regard; 9. Encourages States which have a moratorium to maintain it and to share their experience in this regard; 7 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 596, No. 8638. 82