A/HRC/4/20 page 4 I. INTRODUCTION 1. In addition to reporting on the principal initiatives undertaken in 2006 to address the scourge of extrajudicial executions around the world,1 this report focuses on four issues of particular importance: (a) the mandate of the Special Rapporteur in armed conflicts; (b) “mercy killings” in armed conflict; (c) the “most serious crimes” for which the death penalty may be imposed; and (d) the international law status of the mandatory death penalty. 2. The report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 1/102. 3. The report takes account of information received and communications sent in the period 1 December 2005 to 30 September 2006. It should be noted, however, that the addendum to the present report - which contains the details of the communications sent and the replies received - follows a different chronology, the details of which are explained below.2 4. An overview of my terms of reference, a list of the specific types of violations of the right to life upon which I take action, and a description of the legal framework and methods of work used in implementing this mandate can be found in document E/CN.4/2005/7, paragraphs 5-12. 5. I am grateful to the staff of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for their assistance in the conduct of my work, and to Mr. William Abresch and Mr. Jason Morgan-Foster of the Project on Extrajudicial Executions at New York University Law School, who have provided expert assistance and advice. II. ACTIVITIES A. Communications 6. An indispensable aspect of the Special Rapporteur’s mandate involves the sending of communications designed to facilitate a productive and meaningful dialogue with Governments in response to credible allegations of violations relating to extrajudicial executions. 7. This report covers communications sent and replies received over the past year.3 The details of my concerns and the information provided in response by Governments are reflected in considerable detail in addendum 1 to this report. That addendum is an integral, and for some purposes even the most important, part of the report on work done under this mandate. I have classified the responses received according to their level of adequacy and have provided evaluative “observations” designed to capture the outcome of each set of exchanges with a Government. 8. A very brief statistical profile of the communications sent during the period under review shows that 135 communications were sent to 51 countries and 2 other actors (including 44 urgent appeals and 75 letters of allegation and 16 communications following up on previous correspondence) concerning a total of more than 1,531 individuals. A breakdown of the subjects