Adopted and proclaimed by General Assembly
resolution 44/128 of 15 December 1989
The States Parties to the present Protocol,
Believing that abolition of the death
penalty contributes to enhancement of human dignity and progressive development
of human rights,
Recalling article 3 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, adopted on 10 December 1948, and article 6 of the
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, adopted on 16 December
1966,
Noting that article 6 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights refers to abolition of the death penalty
in terms that strongly suggest that abolition is desirable,
Convinced that all measures of abolition of
the death penalty should be considered as progress in the enjoyment of the
right to life,
Desirous to undertake hereby an
international commitment to abolish the death penalty,
Have agreed as follows:
Article 1
1. No one within the jurisdiction of a State Party to
the present Protocol shall be executed.
2. Each State Party shall take all necessary measures
to abolish the death penalty within its jurisdiction.
Article 2
1. No reservation is admissible to the present
Protocol, except for a reservation made at the time of ratification or
accession that provides for the application of the death penalty in time of war
pursuant to a conviction for a most serious crime of a military nature
committed during wartime.
2. The State Party making such a reservation shall at
the time of ratification or accession communicate to the Secretary-General of
the United Nations the relevant provisions of its national legislation
applicable during wartime.
3. The
State Party having made such a reservation shall notify the Secretary-General
of the United Nations of any beginning or ending of a state of war applicable
to its territory.
Article 3
The States Parties to the present Protocol shall
include in the reports they submit to the Human Rights Committee, in accordance
with article 40 of the Covenant, information on the measures that they have
adopted to give effect to the present Protocol.
Article 4
With respect to the States Parties to the Covenant
that have made a declaration under article 41, the competence of the Human
Rights Committee to receive and consider communications when a State Party
claims that another State Party is not fulfilling its obligations shall extend
to the provisions of the present Protocol, unless the State Party concerned has
made a statement to the contrary at the moment of ratification or accession.
Article 5
With respect to the States Parties to the first
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
adopted on 16 December 1966, the competence of the Human Rights Committee to
receive and consider communications from individuals subject to its
jurisdiction shall extend to the provisions of the present Protocol, unless the
State Party concerned has made a statement to the contrary at the moment of
ratification or accession.
Article 6
1. The provisions of the present Protocol shall apply
as additional provisions to the Covenant.
2. Without prejudice to the possibility of a
reservation under article 2 of the present Protocol, the right guaranteed in
article 1, paragraph 1, of the present Protocol shall not be subject to any
derogation under article 4 of the Covenant.
Article 7
1. The present Protocol is open for signature by any
State that has signed the Covenant. 2. The present Protocol is subject to
ratification by any State that has ratified the Covenant or acceded to it.
Instruments of ratification shall be deposited with the Secretary-General of
the United Nations.
3. The present Protocol shall be open to accession by
any State that has ratified the Covenant or acceded to it.
4.
Accession shall be effected by the deposit of an instrument of accession with
the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
5. The
Secretary-General of the United Nations shall inform all States that have
signed the present Protocol or acceded to it of the deposit of each instrument
of ratification or accession.
Article 8
1. The present Protocol shall enter into force three
months after the date of the deposit with the Secretary-General of the United
Nations of the tenth instrument of ratification or accession.
2. For each State ratifying the present Protocol or
acceding to it after the deposit of the tenth instrument of ratification or
accession, the present Protocol shall enter into force three months after the
date of the deposit of its own instrument of ratification or accession.
Article 9
The provisions of the present Protocol shall extend to
all parts of federal States without any limitations or exceptions.
Article 10
The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
inform all States referred to in article 48, paragraph 1, of the Covenant of
the following particulars:
(a) Reservations, communications and notifications
under article 2 of the present Protocol;
(b)
Statements made under articles 4 or 5 of the present Protocol;
(c)
Signatures, ratifications and accessions under article 7 of the present
Protocol:
(d) The
date of the entry into force of the present Protocol under article 8 thereof.
Article 11
1. The present Protocol, of which the Arabic, Chinese,
English, French, Russian and Spanish texts are equally authentic, shall be
deposited in the archives of the United Nations.
2. The Secretary-General of the United Nations shall
transmit certified copies of the present Protocol to all States referred to in
article 48 of the Covenant.
