A/HRC/12/45 page 4 crime did not result, and was not intended to result, in the victim’s death. The suit was brought by an individual sentenced to death for raping a child under a law in the State of Louisiana. The majority of the Court however indicated that its decision was limited to crimes against individual persons and not offences against the State, of which it gave the examples of treason, espionage, terrorism, and “drug kingpin activity”.1 7. A number of countries are considering reducing the number of offences which attract the death penalty. For example, such a process has been taking place in Viet Nam since 2008 and it was reported in July 2009 that the National Assembly of Viet Nam voted to abolish the death penalty for the crimes of rape, fraud for appropriating property, smuggling, making and trafficking in counterfeit money, using drugs, giving bribes, hijacking or piracy and destroying military weapons. The punishment will be maintained for drug trafficking. 8. In January 2009 the Supreme Court of Uganda, while upholding the constitutionality of the country’s death penalty, found that execution by hanging was cruel punishment and recommended that Parliament consider another means of execution. The Court also held it unreasonable to keep convicts on death row for more than three years, and those held for longer should have their sentences commuted to life in prison. 9. It was reported in July 2009 that Kazakhstan had restricted the use of the death penalty to terrorist crimes involving the death of people and also for felonies committed in times of war. 10. The Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions received information in December 2008 that the Parliament of Papua New Guinea was considering a draft juvenile justice act that would exclude the imposition of the death penalty for juvenile offenders (A/HRC/11/2, para. 41). D. Countries which have ratified international instruments that provide for the abolition of the death penalty 11. There are one international and three regional instruments in force which commit States parties to abolishing the death penalty: the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR); Protocol No. 6 to the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR); Protocol No. 13 to ECHR; and the Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights (ACHR) to Abolish the Death Penalty. Protocol No. 6 to ECHR concerns the abolition of the death penalty in peacetime. The Second Optional Protocol to ICCPR and the Protocol to ACHR provide for the total abolition of the death penalty, but allow States wishing to do so to retain the death penalty in wartime, if they make a reservation to that effect upon ratification. Protocol No. 13 concerns the abolition of the death penalty in all circumstances, including for acts committed in times of war and of imminent threat of war. 12. During the reporting period, two States acceded to the Second Optional Protocol to ICCPR, namely, Rwanda on 15 December 2008 and Uzbekistan on 23 December 2008. Three 1 128 S.Ct. 2641.