A/HRC/27/26 suspension of capital punishment for all who might be, or had been, sentenced to it; prosecutors should no longer seek the death penalty and judges should not impose it. That could be done, for example, through a directive from the highest judicial body. She further highlighted the importance of the right to seek pardon or commutation. In that regard, she welcomed the recent presidential decision in Myanmar to commute all death sentences to a lesser punishment, and recent decisions by the Supreme Court of India to commute to life imprisonment the death sentences of several individuals and to introduce guidelines safeguarding the rights of people on death row. The High Commissioner hoped that those initiatives would lead to the full abolition of the death penalty in those countries. She also urged the Human Rights Council to continue discussing and advancing the universal abolition of the death penalty, and engaging States and other stakeholders in a dialogue on the matter. Finally, she called upon the Council to consider commissioning a comprehensive legal study to help facilitate the emergence of an international customary norm prohibiting the use of the death penalty under all circumstances. IV. Contributions of the panellists 10. Mr. Ndong Ella introduced the high-level panel discussion. He noted that the Council had convened the panel recognizing the importance for States to hold debates on the question of the death penalty. 11. In his introductory remarks as moderator of the panel, Mr. Niemtchinow said that the death penalty was primarily a matter of human rights and was not a punishment comparable with any other punishment. The death penalty was a denial of the right to life and, therefore, was a violation of human rights. The high-level panel discussion was relevant and timely, as in a few months, during its sixty-ninth session, the General Assembly of the United Nations would discuss a draft resolution on renewing the call for a moratorium on the death penalty, with the aim of its universal abolition. The adoption by the General Assembly every two years of a resolution on a moratorium confirmed that the majority of Member States supported the establishment of a universal moratorium. Global awareness concerning the universal abolition of the death penalty was visible in all continents. He noted that the Government of France had launched a global campaign to abolish the death penalty. 12. Mr. Djenontin-Agossou recalled that every human being had an inherent right to life and no one should be deprived of that right. Benin had ratified the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as other relevant instruments, such as those on the rights of the child and against torture; and its Constitution established that the human being was sacred. He recalled the international context relating to the death penalty and that, since 2007, the General Assembly had adopted a number of resolutions calling for a moratorium on the execution of death sentences. In November 2008, the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights had adopted a resolution in which it had recommended that States parties to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights uphold the moratorium. He noted that, in 2012, Benin had co-sponsored and supported General Assembly resolution 67/176 on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty. 13. With regard to the abolition of the death penalty in Benin, Mr. Djenontin-Agossou explained that in 2004, with the approval of the President of the country and with the support of civil society organizations, the Human Rights Unit of the Ministry of Justice, Human Rights and Legislation had established an advisory body to advance the abolition of the death penalty. The Advisory Body had investigated various issues regarding the use of the death penalty. Subsequently, the Government of Benin had announced at various international forums that it would abolish the death penalty. For instance, during the universal periodic review by the Human Rights Council held in 2008, Benin had committed 5