Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

1992/72.
Extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

The Commission on Human Rights, Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which guarantees the right to life, liberty and security of person, Having regard to the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in which it is stated that every human being has the inherent right to life, that this right shall be protected by law, and that no one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his or her life, Recalling General Assembly resolution 34/175 of 17 December 1979, in which the Assembly reaffirmed that mass and flagrant violations of human rights were of special concern to the United Nations and urged the Commission on Human Rights to take timely and effective action in existing and future cases of mass and flagrant violations of human rights, Mindful of General Assembly resolutions 36/22 of 9 November 1981, 37/182 of 17 December 1982, 38/96 of 16 December 1983, 39/110 of 14 December 1984, 40/143 of 13 December 1985, 41/144 of 4 December 1986, 42/141 of 7 December 1987, 43/151 of 8 December 1988, 44/159 of 15 December 1989 and 45/162 of 18 December 1990, Taking note of Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, resolution 1982/13 of 7 September 1982, in which the Sub-Commission recommended that effective measures should be adopted to prevent the occurrence of summary or arbitrary executions, Recalling the other standards which form the legal justification of the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, including Economic and Social Council resolutions 663 C (XXIV) of 31 July 1957, in which the Council approved the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, and 2076 (LXII) of 13 May 1977, General Assembly resolution 3452 (XXX) of 9 December 1975, in which the Assembly adopted the Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Being Subjected to Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, General Assembly resolution 34/169 of 17 December 1979, in which the Assembly adopted the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials, Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50 of 25 May 1984, in which the Council approved the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, General Assembly resolution 39/46 of 10 December 1984, in which the Assembly adopted the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, General Assembly resolution 43/173 of 9 December 1988, in which the Assembly adopted the Body of Principles for the Protection of All Persons under Any Form of Detention or Imprisonment, Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/64 of 24 May 1989 on the implementation of the Safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/65 of 24 May 1989, in which the Council adopted the Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal Arbitrary and Summary Executions, and the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials, adopted by the Eighth United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, held at Havana, from 27 August to 7 September 1990, Welcoming the close cooperation established between the Centre for Human Rights, the Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Branch of the Centre for Social Development and Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat and the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control with regard to questions relating to extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Deeply alarmed at the occurrence, on a large scale, of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Welcoming the attention given by the Special Rapporteur in his report (E/CN.4/1992/30 and Corr.1 and Add.1) to the problem of situations of internal violence, disturbances, tensions and public emergency, in view of the needless loss of life consequent upon the level of violence in such situations, Convinced of the need for appropriate action to combat and eventually to eliminate the abhorrent practice of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, which represents a flagrant violation of the most fundamental right, the right to life,

1. Strongly condemns, once again, the large number of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions which continue to take place throughout the world;

2. Appeals urgently to Governments, United Nations bodies and organs, the specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations to take effective action to combat and eliminate the phenomenon of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions;

3. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur and welcomes his recommendations with a view to eliminating extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions (E/CN.4/1992/30 and Corr.1, paras. 648-653);

4. Takes note with regret of the impending resignation of Mr. S. Amos Wako as Special Rapporteur and expresses its gratitude to him for the manner in which he has discharged his functions;

5. Requests the Chairman of the Commission, after consultations within the Bureau, to appoint an individual of recognized international standing as a special rapporteur;

6. Decides that the mandate of the Special Rapporteur shall be three years, while maintaining the annual reporting cycle, in order to enable the Special Rapporteur to submit further conclusions and recommendations to the Commission;

7. Requests the Special Rapporteur, in carrying out the mandate, to continue to examine situations of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions;

8. Also requests the Special Rapporteur in his next report to pay special attention to extrajudicial, summary and arbitrary executions of children;

9. Further requests the Special Rapporteur, in carrying out the mandate, to respond effectively to information which comes before him, in particular when an extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution is imminent or threatened or when such an execution has occurred;

10. Encourages Governments, United Nations bodies and organs, the specialized agencies, intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations to initiate, coordinate or support programmes designed to train and educate law enforcement officers and government officials on human rights issues connected with their work, and appeals to the international community to support endeavours to that end;

11. Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide all necessary assistance to the Special Rapporteur;

12. Also requests the Secretary-General to consider ways of publicizing, particularly within the framework of the information activities of the Centre for Human Rights, the work of the Special Rapporteur, as well as recommendations made by him;

13. Urges all Governments, in particular those which consistently have not responded to communications transmitted to them by the Special Rapporteur, and all others concerned, to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur so that the mandate may be carried out effectively;

14. Requests the Special Rapporteur to enhance his dialogue with Governments by following up on communications dispatched to Governments transmitting allegations of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and allegations of imminent or threatened executions, as well as by following up on recommendations made in his reports on on-site visits to particular countries;

15. Requests the Secretary-General, in this connection, to strengthen the human and material resources placed at the disposal of the Special Rapporteur;

16. Urges Governments to undertake all necessary and possible measures to lower the level of violence and the needless loss of life consequent thereupon during situations of internal violence, disturbances, tensions and public emergency;

17. Expresses its profound thanks to those Governments that have invited the Special Rapporteur to visit their countries, asks them to examine carefully the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur and invites them to report to the Special Rapporteur on action taken on these recommendations;

18. Again requests the Secretary-General to continue to use his best endeavours in cases where the minimum standard of legal safeguards provided for in articles 6, 14 and 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights appears not to be respected;

19. Decides to consider the question of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions as a matter of high priority at its forty-ninth session under the agenda item entitled "Question of the violation of human rights and fundamental freedoms in any part of the world, with particular reference to colonial and other dependent countries and territories".

55th meeting
5 March 1992
[Adopted without a vote. See chap. XII.]