A/HRC/15/19 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 16 July 2010 Original: English Human Rights Council Fifteenth session Agenda items 2 and 3 Annual report of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and reports of the Office of the High Commissioner and the Secretary-General Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights, including the right to development Question of the death penalty Report of the Secretary-General* Summary The present report contains information on the question of the death penalty covering the period from June 2009 to July 2010, and draws attention to a number of phenomena, including the continuing trend towards abolition and the ongoing difficulties experienced in gaining access to reliable information on executions. * Late submission. GE.10-15029 (E) 180810