A/HRC/42/28 application of the death penalty for complicity in terrorism. 24 A revision of the law was announced in 2018.25 The Human Rights Committee, in its general comment No. 36, stated that a limited degree of involvement or of complicity in even the most serious crimes could not justify imposition of the death penalty (para. 35). Crimes of terrorism are often vaguely phrased in national laws, and successive Special Rapporteurs on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism have raised concerns that such laws might result in unjustifiable and arbitrary restrictions of human rights, including notably the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, and to freedom of association. 26 The Council of Europe further noted that applying the death penalty in cases of terrorism could be counterproductive, creating focal points whose memory could be used to rally others to commit further acts of terrorism. 27 12. Some States have reintroduced the death penalty for other crimes which, while serious, do not involve intentional killing and therefore, in the view of the Human Rights Committee, would not qualify as “most serious crimes”. In 2018, India expanded the list of crimes punishable by death to include sexual assault of a child. 28 While such crimes rightly result in calls for stronger preventive measures and better protection of children, both the Committee’s view that the death penalty should be restricted to crimes involving intentional killing and a victim-centred approach indicate that the death penalty should not be reintroduced in such cases. For example, the submission of Project 39A of the National Law University in Delhi noted that, as perpetrators of child sex abuse were in the majority of cases from the child’s family or social circle, introducing the death penalty for that offence could cause immense psychological conflict for and pressure on child victims and could even create a perverse motivation on the part of perpetrators to extinguish evidence by killing the child victim.29 13. A number of States have expanded the application of the death penalty to conduct the criminalization of which may already be in breach of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, such as adultery, consensual same-sex relations, blasphemy and apostasy. Implementation of the death penalty for such cases could thus constitute arbitrary deprivation of life.30 Mauritania reintroduced the mandatory death penalty for blasphemy in 2018.31 In 2019, Brunei Darussalam introduced the death penalty for offences including adultery, sodomy and insult or defamation of the Prophet Muhammad. 32 Even if the Government of Brunei Darussalam has announced that a moratorium will remain in place, such laws can have a significant chilling effect on the legitimate exercise of human rights, in particular by religious or sexual minorities.33 14. The Human Rights Committee has stated that conduct whose very criminalization violates the Covenant, such as establishing opposition groups or offending a head of State, should never be subject to the death penalty. 34 Any move towards reintroduction of the 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 Law No. 034/PR/2015 on the punishment of acts of terrorism; and the submission of International Federation of ACAT (Action by Christians for the Abolition of Torture). Alwihda Info, “Le Tchad va réviser la loi sur le terrorisme”, 15 November 2018 (in French). See, for example, A/HRC/40/52, paras. 34–37. Submission of the Council of Europe. Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, as amended; and Indian Criminal Law (Amendment) Act, 2018. See also Centre for Child and the Law, National Law School of India University, Implementation of the POCSO Act, 2012 by Special Courts: Challenges and Issues (Bangalore, India, 2018), particularly chapter 11 as regards pressure on children. Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 36, para. 36. Criminal Code of Mauritania, as amended, art. 306. See www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=24432&LangID=E. Communication OL BRN 1/2019 to Brunei Darussalam from the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief, the Independent Expert on protection against violence and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences and the Working Group on the issue of discrimination against women in law and in practice. General comment No. 36, para. 36. 5