A/HRC/41/36/Add.1 25. The Special Rapporteur also took up cases of excessive use of force, which frequently concern the management of assemblies, 8 and particularly the use of firearms against protestors. The Special Rapporteur recalls the importance of the Code of Conduct for Law Enforcement Officials and Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials in this context. She recalls in particular that intentional lethal use can only be resorted to when it is strictly unavoidable in order to protect life. She further highlights that, with regard to assemblies, the use of force by law enforcement officials should be exceptional, and assemblies should ordinarily be managed with no resort to force (A/HRC/31/66). 26. During the reporting period, the Special Rapporteur also sent communications to eight non-State actors directly raising allegations of human rights violations related to attacks or killings, deaths in custody, death threats, death penalty safeguards, due diligence/impunity and excessive use of force. 1.5 Groups addressed by communications 27. The graph below indicates the groups of people addressed in the communications sent by the Special Rapporteur by numbers of communications sent. 28. Over a quarter of communications addressed issues related to human rights defenders and freedom of opinion and expression; and were sent in conjunction with the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. The Special Rapporteur continues to raise awareness about the importance of protecting the right to life of human rights defenders, journalists, bloggers and writers. 29. The Special Rapporteur reiterates her serious concern in relation with a number of submissions received and cases taken up concerned children. Many of these related to individuals who have been sentenced to death or executed for alleged crimes committed as children.9 Other communications concerned attacks or killings and excessive use of force against children. 30. Eight communications concerned migrants, including women. Violations of the right to life of asylum seekers, refugees and migrants constitutes a crisis, characterized by mass casualties globally, a regime of impunity for its perpetrators and an overall tolerance for its fatalities, which needs urgent action. The Special Rapporteur calls on States, intergovernmental organizations and other actors to implement the recommendations in her report on the subject (A/72/335). C. Observations on the death penalty and communications transmitted to States concerning alleged violations of safeguards (tabulation B) 31. Because of the urgency of the cases brought to her attention, the Special Rapporteur sends many communications concerning possible instances of the unlawful application of the death penalty. During the reporting period, the Special Rapporteur sent 33 communications on the death penalty to 26 States. Of these, 16 communications focused on named included individual cases. 32. In its resolution 35/15, the Human Rights Council requested the Special Rapporteur in carrying out her mandate “[t]o continue to monitor the implementation of existing international standards on safeguards and restrictions relating to the imposition of capital punishment, bearing in mind the comments made by the Human Rights Committee in its interpretation of article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Second Optional Protocol thereto.” In this respect, the Special Rapporteur has included 8 9 12 An “assembly”, generally understood, is an intentional and temporary gathering in a private or public space for a specific purpose, and can take the form of demonstrations, meetings, strikes, processions, rallies or sit-ins with the purpose of voicing grievances and aspirations or facilitating celebrations (see A/HRC/20/27, para. 24, and A/HRC/31/66, para. 19). See paragraph 42 below.