Special
Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions
Information
needed for the Special Rapporteur to take action
Any individual,
group, non-governmental organization, inter-governmental agency or Government
who has reliable knowledge on the occurrence of extrajudicial, summary, or
arbitrary executions, falling in one or more categories outlined in Violations of the right to life upon
which the Special Rapporteur takes action, can bring it to the attention of the Special Rapporteur.
In order to do so, the following minimum information is needed:
(a) Information
regarding the incident:
date; place; description of how the incident occurred; in cases of alleged violations of the
right to life in connection with the death penalty, information on shortcomings with regard
to fair trial guarantees; in
cases of imminent violations of the right to life, the reasons for which the persons life
is feared to be at risk; in
cases of imminent alleged violations in connection with the death penalty, in addition to the aforementioned
information, the appeals submitted;
(b) Information
regarding the victims of the incident; the number of victims; if known, their name, age, sex,
profession and/or activities if related to the (imminent) violation of the right
to life;
(c) Information
regarding the alleged perpetrators: If known, an explanation of the reasons why they are suspected
to be responsible; if perpetrators are no state agents, details on how these
forces or individuals relate to the State (e.g. cooperation with State security
forces including information on chains of command; State connivance with, or
tolerance of their operations, etc.);
(d) Information
regarding the source of the allegations: name and full address of the organization or individual
submitting the allegations to the Special Rapporteur.
Other information
which is of interest to the Special Rapporteur, if available, includes:
(a) Additional
information regarding the victims of the incident which may help identify persons: e.g. the place
of residence or origin;
(b) Additional
information regarding the alleged perpetrators: names, the unit or service to which they
belong as well as their rank and functions;
(c) Information
regarding steps taken by the victims or their families and, in particular, about complaints
filed, by whom, and before which organ. If no complaint was filed, information
as to why not;
(d) Information
regarding steps taken by the authorities to investigate the alleged violation of the right to life
and/or measures adopted to protect persons under threat as well as to prevent
similar incidents in the future, in particular: if complaints were filed, the
action taken by competent organs upon their receipt; progress and status of
investigations at the time of the submission of the allegation; in case the
results of the investigation are said to be unsatisfactory, an explanation of
why this is so.
More general
information relating to the right to life, e.g., on recent legislative
developments in regard to capital punishment, on amnesty laws, or reliable
information indicating a pattern in regard to impunity, are welcomed by the
Special Rapporteur as well. Such information enables him to better evaluate the
general situation of the right to life in particular countries.
Any information
of interest to the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions should be sent either to webadmin.hchr@unog.ch (for electronic mail only) or to the following address (for mail
or fax):
Special
Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary, or Arbitrary Executions
c/o
OHCHR-UNOG, 1211 Geneva 10, Switzerland
Fax: 41 22 917
9006