23 May 1986

19th plenary meeting

Summary or arbitrary executions

The Economic and Social Council,

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 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 and 40/143 of 13 December 1985,

Taking note of resolution 1982/13 of 7 September 1982 of the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities, in which the Sub-Commission recommended that effective measures should be adopted to prevent the occurrence of summary or arbitrary executions,

Bearing in mind the endorsement by the Seventh United Nations Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders of safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty, as well as the ongoing work on summary or arbitrary executions within the Committee on Crime Prevention and Control,

Deeply alarmed at the occurrence on a large scale of summary or arbitrary executions, including extra-legal executions,

1. Strongly condemns, once again, the large number of summary or arbitrary executions, including extra-legal executions, which continue to take place in various parts of the world;

2. Appeals urgently to Governments, United Nations bodies, the specialized agencies, regional intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations to take effective action to combat and eliminate summary or arbitrary executions, including extra-legal executions;

3. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. S. Amos Wako;

4. Decides to renew the mandate of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. S. Amos Wako, for another year, in order to enable him to submit further conclusions and recommendations to the Commission on Human Rights;

5. Requests the Special Rapporteur in carrying out his mandate to continue to examine situations of summary or arbitrary executions;

6. Requests the Special Rapporteur in carrying out his mandate to respond effectively to information that comes before him, in particular when a summary or arbitrary execution is imminent or threatened or when such an execution has occurred;

7. Takes note of the need to develop international standards designed to ensure effective legislation and other domestic measures so that proper investigations are conducted by appropriate authorities into all cases of suspicious death, including provisions for adequate autopsy;

8. Invites the Special Rapporteur to receive information from appropriate United Nations agencies and other international organizations and to examine the elements to be included in such standards and to report to the Commission on Human Rights on progress made in this respect;

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

10. Urges all Governments and all others concerned to co-operate with and assist the Special Rapporteur so that he may carry out his mandate effectively;

11. Requests the Commission on Human Rights to consider the question of summary or arbitrary executions as a matter of high priority at its forty-third session under the 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".