A/HRC/40/CRP.1 In April 2018, the National Prison Service of South Sudan issued a circular ordering inmates on death row who were being housed in state and county prisons to be moved to the Wau and Juba Central Prisons.1566 Although the decision may have been motivated by a desire to house death row detainees in more secure and appropriate conditions, it raised concerns that this was the precursor to an increase in executions. As a result of this order, in September 2018, 34 inmates sentenced to death (32 male and two female) were transferred from Torit to Juba.1567 Among this group was a lactating mother and a boy who was 15 years old at the time of his conviction in 2017. 1568 Amnesty International documented further transfers to both Wau and Juba Central Prisons.1569 As of early January 2019, it was reported to the Commission that 387 prisoners (379 male and eight female) were on death row across the country.1570 Amnesty International reported in December 2018 that four executions were carried out in Wau in May and October 2018, including one who was reportedly below the age of 18, and that three were carried out in Juba between July and October 2018.1571 However, the Government of South Sudan denied that it had carried out any death penalties since independence, stating “Since 2011, South Sudan has not executed any sentenced prisoner simply because we are signatory to the Charters that prohibit death penalty.” 1572 The Commission has not independently verified death penalty execution figures. There are real risks that any use of the death penalty in South Sudan in the present context would constitute an arbitrary deprivation of the right to life. International law requires that the death penalty only be applied for the most serious crimes (usually understood as involving an intentional killing), that certain categories of people can never be subjected to the death penalty, and that strict procedural safeguards must apply during and after the trial. In addition there are restrictions on the manner of any use of the death penalty. The African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, to which South Sudan is a party, covers such situations as it contains no provision recognizing the death penalty and guarantees that that no one may be arbitrarily deprived of their right to life. The African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights has issued a General Comment on this treaty obligation and explains: In those States which have not yet abolished the death penalty it is vital that it is used for only the most serious crimes – understood to be crimes involving intentional killing. If, for any reason, the criminal justice system of a State does not, at the time of trial or conviction, meet the criteria of Article 7 of the African Charter or if the particular proceedings in which the penalty is imposed have not stringently met the highest standards of fairness, then the subsequent application of the death penalty will be considered a violation of the right to life. Those sentenced to death have the right to seek clemency, pardon or commutation through a transparent process with due process of law. Mass trials resulting in the death penalty without due consideration to fair trial standards are illegal and should not take place. In no circumstances shall the imposition of the death penalty be mandatory for an offence. The death penalty shall not be imposed for crimes committed by children, and the burden of proof rests upon the State to prove the age of the defendant. Military courts shall not have the power to impose the death penalty. Whatever the offense or the circumstances of the trial, the execution of pregnant or nursing women, children, elderly persons or persons with psycho-social or intellectual disabilities, will always amount to a violation of the right to life. Where the death penalty has not yet been abolished, it shall be used in a completely transparent manner, with States giving reasonable advance notice of the timing, manner, and number of executions to those involved, including those under sentence of death, their 1566 Republic of South Sudan, National Prison Service of South Sudan, Circular No. 3/2018, 26 April 2018. Confidential Document, ERN D114964-D114965. See also Amnesty International, “‘I Told the Judge I was 15’: The Use of the Death Penalty in South Sudan”, December 2018. 1568 Confidential Document, ERN D114964-D114965. See also Amnesty International, “‘I Told the Judge I was 15’: The Use of the Death Penalty in South Sudan”, December 2018. 1569 Amnesty International, “‘I Told the Judge I was 15’: The Use of the Death Penalty in South Sudan”, December 2018. 1570 Confidential Document, ERN D116364-D116364. See also United Nations Security Council, Report of the Secretary-General on South Sudan (covering the period from 4 June to 1 September 2018), S/2018/831, 11 September 2018. 1571 Amnesty International, “‘I Told the Judge I was 15’: The Use of the Death Penalty in South Sudan”, December 2018. 1572 Gurtong, “South Sudan Denies Execution Of Prisoners Report”, 8 December 2018. 1567 199