A/HRC/45/27 punishment.40 They provide that capital punishment may only be carried out pursuant to a final judgment rendered by a competent court after legal process which gives all possible safeguards to ensure a fair trial, at least equal to those contained in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. According to the Human Rights Committee, in cases of trial leading to the imposition of the death penalty, scrupulous respect of the guarantees of fair trial is particularly important. The imposition of a sentence of death upon conclusion of a trial in which the provisions of article 14 of the Covenant have not been respected constitutes a violation of the right to life. 41 26. According to article 6 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, in countries that have not abolished the death penalty, sentence of death may be imposed only for “the most serious crimes”. The Human Rights Committee has indicated that the term “the most serious crimes” must be read restrictively and appertain only to crimes of extreme gravity involving intentional killing. A limited degree of involvement or of complicity in the commission of even the most serious crimes cannot justify the imposition of the death penalty.42 Nevertheless, research indicates that since July 2018, several States have adopted laws providing for the death penalty or extending its use to include terrorismrelated offences, including against juvenile offenders.43 That is despite the prohibition of the use of the death penalty for offences committed by persons aged under 18. 44 In other States, the death penalty was retained for crimes that do not meet the threshold of “the most serious crimes”.45 27. The United Nations human rights mechanisms have continued to express concern about the lack of due process in terrorism-related trials involving the imposition of the death penalty,46 including for offences that do not meet the threshold of “the most serious crimes”.47 For example, in the Syrian Arab Republic, the death penalty can be imposed for any act that results in the partial destruction of a public building, an industrial establishment, a ship or another installation, in the disruption of means of transport or communications or in the death of a person. 48 Moreover, that punishment is imposed following court proceedings that do not offer fair trial guarantees. 49 In Somalia, despite indications that the Government may be considering instituting a moratorium, the use of the death penalty continues. The military courts tend to sentence most Al-Shabaab members to death on the basis of the Criminal Code of 1962, in trials that reportedly do not meet fair trial guarantees.50 28. Some States have taken initiatives to remove the death penalty for terrorism-related offences. For example, in Uganda, the Law Revision (Penalties in Criminal Matters) Miscellaneous (Amendment) Act 2019 provided for the removal of the mandatory death penalty from the Penal Code Act and the Anti-Terrorism Act, 2002 and other laws. Chad 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49 50 8 E/2015/49, para. 60. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 32, para. 59. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 36, para. 35. For example, PAK 6/2018, p. 5, available from https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments. The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (art. 6) and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (art. 37 (a)) provide that the death penalty cannot be imposed for offences committed by persons below 18 years of age. For example, in Egypt, the updated anti-terrorism law provides for the death penalty for financing terrorism. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=25787&LangID=E; and in Ethiopia, under the 2020 proclamation to prevent and control terrorism, the death penalty was retained for certain terrorist offences. See A/HRC/44/49/Add.1, paras. 26–27. A/HRC/40/52/Add.2, para. 48; and CCPR/C/BHR/CO/1, para. 31. E/C.12/CMR/CO/4, paras. 38–39; and ARM 3/2018, BEL 4/2019, KGZ 2/2018, RUS 18/2018 and USA 18/2019, available from https://spcommreports.ohchr.org/Tmsearch/TMDocuments. Syrian Arab Republic, Criminal Code, art. 305 (3). See www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/%7B65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3CF6E4FF96FF9%7D/a_hrc_31_crp_1.pdf, paras. 16 and 35; and Cecilia Polizzi, “The crime of terrorism”, p. 24. UNU and Institute for Integrated Transitions, The Limits of Punishment, p. 143.