A/RES/62/149 GA

United Nations A/RES/62/149 General Assembly Distr.: General 26 February 2008 Sixty-second session Agenda item 70 (b) 07-47271 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 18 December 2007 [on the report of the Third Committee (A/62/439/Add.2)] 62/149. Moratorium on the use of the death penalty The General Assembly, Guided by the purposes and principles contained in the Charter of the United Nations, Recalling the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,0F 1 the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights1F2 and the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2F3 Recalling also the resolutions on the question of the death penalty adopted over the past decade by the Commission on Human Rights in all consecutive sessions, the last being resolution 2005/59 of 20 April 2005,3F 4 in which the Commission called upon States that still maintain the death penalty to abolish it completely and, in the meantime, to establish a moratorium on executions, Recalling further the important results accomplished by the former Commission on Human Rights on the question of the death penalty, and envisaging that the Human Rights Council could continue to work on this issue, Considering that the use of the death penalty undermines human dignity, and convinced that a moratorium on the use of the death penalty contributes to the enhancement and progressive development of human rights, that there is no conclusive evidence of the deterrent value of the death penalty and that any miscarriage or failure of justice in the implementation of the death penalty is irreversible and irreparable, Welcoming the decisions taken by an increasing number of States to apply a moratorium on executions, followed in many cases by the abolition of the death penalty, _______________ 1 Resolution 217 A (III). 2 See resolution 2200 A (XXI), annex. 3 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 4 See Official Records of the Economic and Social Council, 2005, Supplement No. 3 and corrigenda (E/2005/23 and Corr.1 and 2), chap. II, sect. A. A/RES/62/149 2 1. Expresses its deep concern about the continued application of the death penalty; 2. Calls upon all States that still maintain the death penalty: (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; (b) To provide the Secretary-General with information relating to the use of capital punishment and the observance of the safeguards guaranteeing protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty; (c) To progressively restrict the use of the death penalty and reduce the number of offences for which it may be imposed; (d) To establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty; 3. Calls upon States which have abolished the death penalty not to reintroduce it; 4. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its sixty-third session on the implementation of the present resolution; 5. Decides to continue consideration of the matter at its sixty-third session under the item entitled “Promotion and protection of human rights”. 76th plenary meeting 18 December 2007

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