The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area No. 356 – 3 introduced changes to the appeals procedures prescribed in the Criminal Procedural Code (CPC). According to Chapter 39 of the CPC, all restrictions to appealing a judgment are removed, and anyone sentenced to capital punishment can appeal against the court’s decision. According to information received from Belarus, there is a set of measures in place designed to ensure that no one suffering from psychological disorders that might prevent her or him from understanding her or his actions can be sentenced to death. In case a mental disorder deprives a convicted person of awareness of their actions, a medical examination report shall be sent to the court so that it may suspend the death sentence. Were the person to recover, the court in question will rule on the execution of the sentence or the possibility of its replacement. Women cannot be sentenced to death, but in cases when a father with dependents is sentenced to capital punishment the Court must notify the Education Department of the city of residence in order to insure state protection for the child. Where the dependents are elderly parents of the accused, the Court shall issue a ruling on the transfer of said persons to care or custody of relatives or other persons or institutions. The United Nations Periodic Review on Belarus took place on 4 May 2015, and the UN Human Rights Council’s Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review issued its report on Belarus on 13 July 2015.156 According to the National Report prepared by Belarus for the second Universal Periodic Review, positive developments included the adoption of the possibility of plea-bargain agreements for suspected and accused persons, which was introduced into criminal procedure in 2015. Those who have reached a pre-trial settlement, including people that have committed especially serious crimes that incur in the death penalty, can now see their sentence commuted to life imprisonment.157 According to the participating State’s submission, this may have the effect of further reducing the number of death sentences handed down. Furthermore, Belarus has accepted a set of recommendations regarding the death penalty, including to carry out public campaigns on the arguments for abolition of the death penalty, with the aim of ratifying the Second Protocol to the ICCPR and abolition.158 Furthermore, Belarus supported recommendations to revitalize the discussions within the parliamentary working group on the death penalty and to ensure that the minimum standards are applied pending an eventual moratorium, as well as to consider abolishing the death penalty.159 However, Belarus did not support recommendations to take concrete steps towards abolishing the death penalty, including 156  United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Belarus, UN Doc. A/HRC/29/43, 29 April 2015, <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/ Session29/Pages/ListReports.aspx>. 157  United Nations Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, Belarus, UN doc. A/HRC/30/3, 13 July 2015, para.11, <http://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/ Session30/Pages/ListReports.aspx>. 158  Ibid., para. 127.1 in connection with A/HRC/30/3/Add.1, 30 July 2015. 159  Ibid. para. 129.29 and 129.30. 40