A/HRC/4/20 page 21 Annex II NOTES TO THE REPORT 1 The term “extrajudicial executions” is used in this report to refer to executions other than those carried out by the State in conformity with the law. As explained in my previous report “[t]he terms of reference of this mandate are not best understood through efforts to define individually the terms ‘extrajudicial’, ‘summary’ or ‘arbitrary’, or to seek to categorize any given incident accordingly”. Rather, “the most productive focus is on the mandate itself, as it has evolved over the years through the various resolutions of the General Assembly and the Commission” (E/CN.4/2005/7, para. 6). 2 See note 3 below. 3 In order to comply with strict reporting deadlines, and to give Governments a minimum of two months to reply, the present report reflects communications sent between 1 December 2005 and 30 September 2006, and responses received from Governments between 1 December 2005 and 1 December 2006. A comprehensive account of communications sent to Governments up to 1 December 2006, along with replies received up to the end of January 2007, and the relevant observations of the Special Rapporteur, are reflected in addendum 1 to this report. 4 This report was extensively criticized by some Council members at the third session, but most criticism was based upon a leaked version of a draft which was later significantly revised. 5 General Assembly Res. 61/173 (2006), para. 13. 6 E/CN.4/2005/7, paras. 41-54. 7 See, e.g., Communication of 4 May 2006 from the United States. 8 Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion of 8 July 1996, I.C.J. Reports 1996, para. 25. 9 Legal Consequences of the Construction of a Wall in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, Advisory Opinion of 9 July 2004, I.C.J. Reports 2004, para. 106; Armed Activities on the Territory of the Congo (Democratic Republic of the Congo v. Uganda), I.C.J. Reports 2005, para. 216. 10 Id., at paras. 216-20, 345(3). 11 Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31 (2004) on the nature of the general legal obligation imposed on States parties to the Covenant (art. 2), CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13 (2004), para. 11. 12 CHR Res. 2005/34 and GA Res. 61/173.