A/HRC/33/20 45. During the reporting period, legislative initiatives were undertaken in some countries to introduce legal processes to facilitate the application and granting of clemency and/or commutation. The Government of Afghanistan reported that the President was considering the desirability of legal reform, including of the Penal Code and the Criminal Procedure Code, to allow for death sentences to be commuted to life imprisonment. In Guatemala, two draft decrees were submitted to the National Congress that set out a procedure for executive clemency, a final recourse that was already required by law. 35 In the United States of America, the Governor of the State of Georgia signed into law a bill requiring the Board of Pardons and Paroles to improve transparency and provide explanations regarding its decisions when the latter result in the commutation of death sentences. However, that requirement does not extend to cases in which the pardon request is rejected. 36 In the Islamic Republic of Iran, after the new Code of Criminal Procedure came into force, all death sentences became subject to confirmation either by the Head of the Supreme Court or the Prosecutor General, who are entitled to revise or quash the sentence if they find it contravenes Islamic law or that the judge was not competent. 46. In a recent ruling on clemency procedures, the Court of Appeal of Botswana established that there is a constitutional right to petition the President for clemency, and that it is obligatory for a committee to meet to consider every clemency petition. The Court also insisted on certain additional guarantees, such as the need to consider any material provided by the petitioner, the provision of pro Deo counsel to advise on and prepare the clemency petition, and affording the petitioner sufficient time and information for him to adequately prepare his application. However, the six-week timeline mandated by the Court will generally not be sufficient to prepare a petition, and the Court also commented that the rules of natural justice do not apply to the committee. 47. In certain cases, individuals sentenced to death reportedly refuse to seek clemency. States should nevertheless provide for mandatory appeals or review with provisions for clemency or pardon in all cases of capital offence. 37 In particular, it should be borne in mind that “death row volunteers” who refuse to seek an appeal or clemency may not have full mental competency when making their decision. 38 Sufficient time must be given to petitioners to exercise the right to seek clemency in order for it to be effective, and it must be clear that the individual has waived his or her right to seek clemency before the execution is carried out. However, certain States continue to allow only very short periods of time in which to file such petitions, for example 7 days in Viet Nam and 14 days in Egypt. E. Prohibition of public executions 48. In its resolution 30/5, the Human Rights Council recalled the calls to consider whether the use of the death penalty violated the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, inter alia, because of the methods of execution. It further stated that all methods of execution could inflict inordinate pain and suffering, and that the circumstances in which executions were carried out, in particular 35 36 37 38 See http://elperiodico.com.gt/2016/02/13/opinion/pena-de-muerte/ and www.efe.com/efe/america/ politica/piden-en-guatemala-restituir-figura-de-indulto-y-con-ella-la-pena-muerte/200000352863701. United States of America, State of Georgia, House Bill 71 on pardons and paroles, signed on 1 May 2015. See Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/64. See John H. Blume, “Killing the Willing: ‘Volunteers’, Suicide and Competency”, Cornell Law Faculty Publications, paper 16 (2004). 13