A/HRC/27/23 individual to make or sign, under duress, a confession admitting guilt violates both article 7 (prohibiting torture and inhuman, cruel or degrading treatment) and article 14, paragraph 3 (g) (prohibiting compulsion to testify against oneself or confess guilt) of the Covenant.35 44. Bahrain, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Iraq, Qatar, the Sudan and the Syrian Arab Republic provided information regarding the legal guarantees and safeguards provided in their respective jurisdictions. Such guarantees and safeguards include the right to public trial, the right to legal presentation and counsel, including the provision of a counsel financed by the State, respect for the principle of presumption of innocence, the right to appeal and freedom from torture.36 45. In some States where individuals were sentenced to death or executed, however, the death penalty was imposed after proceedings that may not meet international fair trial standards. In many cases, sentences were based on “confessions” that were allegedly extracted through torture or other ill-treatment. Other prevalent global issues include failure to supply qualified interpreters for court hearings, failure to provide a written record of proceedings, inconsistent and unfair sentencing practices, failure to accept or consider mitigating factors, the absence of a meaningful legal aid framework resulting in indigent defendants being effectively deprived of legal representation and the imposition of the death penalty by military and special courts and tribunals. 46. United Nations human rights mechanisms have continued to express concern over the lack of fair trial in death penalty cases in a number of States. For instance, in November 2013, the High Commissioner for Human Rights urged the Government of Bangladesh not to implement death sentences in cases before the International Crimes Tribunal, particularly given concerns over the fairness of the trials. She emphasized that the tribunal should ensure the highest standards of proceedings, if it was to reinforce the rule of law in Bangladesh and the fight against impunity for the mass atrocities committed in 1971. Subsequently, two Human Rights Council special procedure mandate holders expressed similar concerns that the International Crimes Tribunal of Bangladesh did not uphold the most stringent fair trial and due process guarantees.37 47. The High Commissioner for Human Rights also expressed concern about the imposition of the death penalty by courts in the Gaza Strip in the State of Palestine. She emphasized that the death penalty could only be imposed after a fair trial, which is currently not legally or practically possible in Gaza. She also expressed serious concern about ill-treatment and torture during the interrogation of persons later sentenced to death, and urged the authorities in the Gaza Strip not to carry out planned executions and to implement a moratorium.38 48. With regard to the executions that took place in Somalia in March 2014, OHCHR expressed concerns that the hasty judicial process, in which there were only nine days between the alleged killings and the executions, had deprived suspects of full fair trial guarantees, including the right to legal representation and the right to appeal. 35 36 37 38 Human Rights Committee, general comment No. 32. Submissions from those States are available from the Secretariat for consultation. “UN human rights experts urge Bangladesh to stop the execution of Abdul Quader Mollah”, press release, 9 December 2013. Available from www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14077&LangID=E. “UN human rights chief Navi Pillay urges Hamas to halt Gaza executions”, press release, 14 August 2013. Available from www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=13628&LangID=E. 11