BACKGROUND GUIDE

UNITED NATIONS HUMAN RIGHTS

COUNCIL
AGENDA- QUESTION OF DEATH
PENALTY

President: SANKALP CHAWLA

VICE-PRESIDENT: AKASH ASTHANA
 Letter from the executive board
It is with great pleasure that we welcome you the Human Rights Council’s discourse
on the ‘Question of Death Penalty’. Model United Nations offer a unique platform
for geo-political discourse since it allows civilians to slip in the shoes of diplomats and
puts the onus on them to solve global challenges while realizing the real world
implications of their decisions. The presence of a multi-lateral platform makes tacking
the issues all the more difficult, as the participant must balance national interest with
the long-term common good. MUN grooms the delegates in the trades of
communication, strategy, negotiation and problem solving. We hope that you will take
full advantage of the opportunity which is presented to you in the form of this
conference and try and brush up on as many skills as possible while endeavoring to
tackle the issues in front of you with zeal, bravado and ingenuity.

The background guide is strictly meant to create a framework on which to base one’s
research. The contents of the guide do not reflect the quantum of research which a
delegate must do before attending the conference. No information from the guide can
be cited as evidence in the committee. The delegates are supposed to follow the
UNA-USA rules of procedure. Diplomatic courtesy must be maintained at all times.
Thorough research on one’s country and the agenda are expected. Delegates must not
be ignorant of the UNHRC’s mandate and jurisdiction. The executive board awaits a
fruitful discussion and wishes the delegates all the very best for their preparation.

For any substantial or procedural doubts feel free to contact the executive board.

Sankalp Chawla: sankalpchawla@ymail.com

Akash Asthana: akashinvictus@gmail.com
 United nations human rights council
The Human Rights Council is an inter-governmental body within the United Nations
system responsible for strengthening the promotion and protection of human rights
around the globe and for addressing situations of human rights violations and make
recommendations on them. It has the ability to discuss all thematic human rights
issues and situations that require its attention throughout the year. It meets at the UN
Office at Geneva.
The Council is made up of 47 United Nations Member States which are elected by the
UN General Assembly. When creating the Human Rights Council in March 2006 the
United Nations General Assembly decided that the Council’s work and functioning
should be reviewed five years after it had come into existence at the level of the
General Assembly. The Human Rights Council holds no fewer than three regular
sessions a year, for a total of at least ten weeks. They take place in March (four
weeks), June (three weeks) and September (three weeks). If one third of the Member
States requests so, the Human Rights Council can decide at any time to hold a special
session to address human rights violations and emergencies.
On 18 June 2007, one year after its first meeting, the Human Rights Council adopted
its "Institution-building package" (resolution 5/1) which details procedures,
mechanisms and structures that form the basis of its work. Among those mechanisms
the following subsidiary bodies directly report to the Human Rights Council:

• Universal Periodic Review Working Group

• Advisory Committee
• Complaint Procedure

Death Penalty
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is a government-sanctioned
practice whereby a person is killed by the state as a punishment for a crime.
The sentence that someone be punished in such a manner is referred to as a death
sentence, whereas the act of carrying out the sentence is known as an execution.
Crimes that are punishable by death are known as capital crimes or capital offences,
and they commonly include offences such as murder, mass
murder, terrorism, treason, espionage, offenses against the State, such as attempting to
overthrow government, piracy, drug trafficking, war crimes, crimes against
humanity and genocide, but may include a wide range of offences depending on a
country.

Arguments for Death Penalty

1. Severe crime ought to punished severely enough to prevent it.
2. It is ethically unjustified for a population to pay for imprisoning committers of
heinous crimes for long periods of time, especially in cases of life sentences.
3. It is more humane than long term imprisonment.
4. Certain acts are reprehensible enough to warrant capital punishment.

Execution Methods
• Beheading
• Hanging
• Lethal injection
• Shooting
 Where do most executions take
place?
In 2017, most known executions took place in China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and
Pakistan – in that order.

China remains the world’s top executioner – but the true extent of the use of the
death penalty in China is unknown as this data is classified as a state secret; the global
figure of at least 993 recorded in 2017 excludes the thousands of executions believed
to have been carried out in China.

Excluding China, 84% of all reported executions took place in just four countries –
Iran, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Pakistan.

Countries in black refer to regions where death penalty is retained. Countries in yellow refer to regions where death penalty has been abolished.
Countries in grey have an ambiguous stance.

Executions per year

Amnesty International recorded at least 993 executions in 23 countries in 2017, down
by 4% from 2016 (1,032 executions) and 39% from 2015 (when the organization
reported 1,634 executions, the highest number since 1989).
 Death sentences per year
Amnesty International recorded at least 2,591 death sentences in 53 countries in 2017,
a significant decrease from the record-high of 3,117 recorded in 2016. At least 21,919
people were known to be on death row at the end of 2017.

Arguments to abolish the death

penalty
It is irreversible and mistakes happen. Execution is the ultimate, irrevocable
punishment: the risk of executing an innocent person can never be eliminated. Since
1973, for example, more than 160 prisoners sent to death row in the USA have later
been exonerated or released from death row on grounds of innocence. Others have
been executed despite serious doubts about their guilt.

It does not deter crime. Countries who execute commonly cite the death penalty as
a way to deter people from committing crime. This claim has been repeatedly
discredited, and there is no evidence that the death penalty is any more effective in
reducing crime than life imprisonment.

It is often used within skewed justice systems. In many cases recorded by

Amnesty International, people were executed after being convicted in grossly unfair
trials, on the basis of torture-tainted evidence and with inadequate legal
representation. In some countries death sentences are imposed as the mandatory
punishment for certain offences, meaning that judges are not able to consider the
circumstances of the crime or of the defendant before sentencing.

It is discriminatory. The weight of the death penalty is disproportionally carried by

those with less advantaged socio-economic backgrounds or belonging to a racial,
ethnic or religious minority. This includes having limited access to legal
representation, for example, or being at greater disadvantage in their experience of the
criminal justice system.
It is used as a political tool. The authorities in some countries, for example Iran and
Sudan, use the death penalty to punish political opponents.

The Second Optional Protocol to the

International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty
The Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty is a side agreement
to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. It was created on 15
December 1989 and entered into force on 11 July 1991. As of September 2018, the
Optional Protocol has 86 states parties. In addition, Angola has signed, but not
ratified the Protocol.
The Optional Protocol commits its members to the abolition of the death
penalty within their borders, though Article 2.1 allows parties to make a reservation
allowing execution "in time of war pursuant to a conviction for a most serious crime
of a military nature committed during wartime".(Brazil, Chile, El
Salvador). Cyprus, Malta and Spain initially made such reservations, and subsequently
withdrew them. Azerbaijan and Greece still retain this reservation on their
implementation of the protocol, despite both having banned the death penalty in all
circumstances. (Greece has also ratified Protocol no.13).
 Signatories to the Second Optional Protocol to the ICCPR

Bloc Positions

The United States

It has become clear to the international community that the US is quite opposed to
the UN’s interfering with the way each of the 50 states choose to run the land under
their jurisdiction. In 39 states capital punishment is an entirely legal sentence and has
been ruled so on multiple equations by the Supreme Court.

The Middle East

Capital Punishment is legal in most countries in the Middle East. It is not uncommon,
in Middle Eastern nations, to see a person executed for a crime related to religion.
Israel and Turkey have worked hard to abolish the Death Penalty and are both
proudly execution free. In addition there have been a few attempts to raise attention
and rally for abolition, but the efforts by Human Rights activists and citizens in the
Middle East angered Islamist groups and they successfully rose up in opposition to
any attempts to ban the practice.25

Europe

Of the 49 member states in Europe, 48 have abolished the death penalty and only one
still retains it in law and in practice-- Belarus. In 2009, Europe had a completely
execution- free year, and in this century alone, 8 of the 49 abolished capital
punishment.

Asia-Pacific

This year, Fiji abolished the death penalty making the number of member states in the
Asia-Pacific region that allow the death penalty, whether it be for special
circumstances or in both law and practice, a total of 37 nations. However, the nations
in this region that do retain the penalty have proven to have some of the highest
number of executions per year in the world.

Africa

For the most part, all African Nations have similar policies and perceptions regarding
the Death Penalty. While there seems to be a trend throughout Africa that reflects
movement away from Capital Punishment, most nations are still refusing to accept
complete Abolition. The numbers in the past years have dropped significantly, about
28% from 2013 to 2014 alone. Most of the recorded deaths can be attributed to Egypt
and Nigeria, who have drastically increased death sentence rates on a national scale.

Possible Solutions
Governments in support of The death penalty argue that criminals who abuse their
right to life should not be able to enjoy their right to life. One way to oblige with that
idea but avoid irreversible punishment is to harshen the prison sentence one may
receive for a crime previously punishable by death. This could possibly mean solitary
confinement for all 24 hours of every day— with no visitors allowed. Not only does
this alternative give families and friends the opportunity to prove their loved-ones
innocence, it is arguably almost more painful then death. Another alternative is
reserving the death penalty for certain occasions and circumstances. For example,
treason during times of war is much more severe than treason during peacetime.
Another option could be imposing Capital Punishment for crimes whose rates have
spiked, further incentivizing people to not commit this offense. Lastly, the state could
reserve the punishment for people who have admitted to their guilt. There are many
people who have such a conscious or respect for religion and God that they wouldn’t
dare lie under oath. In addition, it may be beneficial to impose gradual reform. In
other words, the United Nations could support a program where countries remove a
certain number of crimes punishable by death annually. Or, this committee could
propose a limit on the number of capital crimes and set a target year in which every
member state has that reached that goal or below.

Acceptable Proofs
The following sources of evidence, will be accepted in the committee, which can be
asked by the executive board to be presented at any time by a delegate to back their
claims-

1.Reuters’ Reports

2.United Nations’ Reports

3.State sanctioned Reports(subject to approval by the executive board)

4 Amnesty International’s Reports

6.International Rescue Committee’s Reports
7.Doctors Without Borders’ Reports
NOTE- Reports by state-run media organizations are strictly prohibited.
 References
https://www.ohchr.org/en/hrbodies/hrc/pages/aboutcouncil.aspx
https://www.amnesty.org/en/what-we-do/death-penalty/

https://www.amnesty.org.au/5-reasons-some-people-think-the-world-needs-the-death-penalty/

https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=IV-
12&chapter=4&lang=en
http://hrlibrary.umn.edu/instree/b5ccprp2.htm

https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ACT5066652017ENGLISH.pdf
https://www.amnesty.org/download/Documents/ACT5034872016ENGLISH.PDF

Creative Commons

Kronenwetter, Michael (2001). Capital Punishment