A/HRC/24/18 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 1 July 2013 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-fourth session Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Question of the death penalty Report of the Secretary-General Summary The present report contains information on the question of the death penalty, and reports that the international community as a whole is moving towards the abolition of the death penalty in law or in practice. Nevertheless, a small number of States have continued to use the death penalty and in many instances, international standards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty were not fully respected. The report also discusses the continued difficulties in gaining access to reliable information regarding executions, and issues related to the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed. * GE.13-15738 Reissued for technical reasons on 24 July 2013. *