A/HRC/41/CRP.1 Introduction “But a yearning for freedom is deeply embedded within us, even if it is hidden and buried by oppression and fear; it emerges with the very first glimpse of emancipation from tyranny… Freedom emerged from within them, as freedom is part of human nature.”1 24. By appointment, on 2 October 2018, Mr. Kashoggi entered the Consulate of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in Istanbul, to obtain papers he needed to pave the way for his marriage to his fiancée, Ms Hatice Cengiz. She waited outside the Consulate for him to return, but brutally slain within the Consulate, he never would; the bitter reality of his murder made all the more poignant by the joyous purpose for which he entered the Consulate in the first place. 25. The months following his disappearance, as it was thought to be initially, were characterized by intensive diplomatic and political action on the part of the two States involved and many others concerned. Extensive media coverage also ensued. However, despite requests from Special Procedures, non-Governmental organisations, scholars and some Member States for an international, UN-led investigation, by the end of 2018, there was no sign from the international system of an official demand for such an investigation nor any signal that an international criminal investigation, leading to criminal proceedings as appropriate, would be initiated. 26. In January 2019, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions announced that she would initiate a human rights inquiry, under the terms of her Mandate2, into the unlawful death of Mr. Khashoggi, and report her findings to the 41st session of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC). This report highlights the findings of her inquiry. 27. In keeping with the practice of an annual report to the HRC, its focus is on the complex legal and policy questions raised by what in this report is found to be the extrajudicial execution of Mr. Khashoggi. 28. The legal questions are triggered by the interplay, including possible conflicts, between a number of treaties and bodies of law, including the peremptory and customary norms regarding the right to life, international criminal law, the UN Charter and international customary law prohibiting the extraterritorial use of force in peace time, and the Vienna Convention for Consular Relations (thereafter VCCR). 29. Mr. Khashoggi’s execution is emblematic of a global pattern of targeted killing of, and threats against, journalists and media workers that is regularly denounced by States, UN agencies, Special Procedures, and by numerous international and national human rights organisations. Responding to the pattern of impunity for the majority of these crimes, the United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2 November to be the ‘International Day to End Impunity for Crimes against Journalists’. The date was chosen in commemoration of the assassination of two French journalists in Mali on 2 November 2013. Resolution A/RES/68/163 also urges Member States to implement definitive measures to counter this prevailing culture of impunity. It calls on Member States to do their utmost to prevent violence against journalists and media workers to ensure accountability, bring to justice perpetrators of crimes against journalists and media workers, and ensure that victims have access to appropriate remedies. It further calls upon States to promote a safe and enabling environment for journalists to perform their work independently and without undue interference. 30. The execution of Mr. Khashoggi is also emblematic of another pattern which, albeit less frequent than the killing of journalists, is no less serious. That is the pattern of extraterritorial threat or use of force, outside an armed conflict situation, by one State against people located on the territory of another State, resulting in human rights violations, including extrajudicial killing, kidnapping and rendition that may result in torture, imprisonment, 1 2 8 https://hrf.org/jamal-khashoggis-writings-from-the-oslo-freedom-forum/. https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Executions/Pages/Inquiry.aspx.