A/HRC/21/29 Nations study on violence against children, which called upon States to ensure that no person below 18 at the time of the alleged offence was subjected to the death penalty, to immediately suspend the execution of all persons sentenced to death for crimes committed before they were 18, and to ensure the abolition of the death penalty as a sentence as a matter of highest priority (A/61/299, para. 97). The Special Representative conducted a global progress survey to assess follow-up ensured to the recommendations of the study on violence against children, which contained queries on capital punishment imposed for offences committed by persons below the age of 18 years. The information received from States and other partners confirm that the large majority of countries have outlawed the death penalty, as well as life imprisonment and other forms of inhuman sentencing and punishment for children. 52. During the past year, the Special Representative also continued her support to the campaign to end all inhuman sentencing of children, including the death penalty, launched with the Child Rights Information Network. As a result of her efforts, special emphasis was placed on the adoption of national legislation in many States, banning all forms of violence against children, including capital punishment, and on the implementation of international human rights standards within the justice system, with priority attention given to the abolition of death penalty and the suspension of execution of death penalty sentences imposed for offences committed by persons under 18. In close collaboration with her partners, the Special Representative will continue to pursue advocacy efforts at the global, regional and national levels to achieve the universal abolition of death penalty, and to protect all persons below the age of 18 at the time of the alleged offence from the imposition of inhuman sentencing and of any other form of violence. 53. On 30 September 2011, the Committee on the Right of the Child devoted its day of general discussion to the topic of “Children of incarcerated parents” and sought to raise awareness about and explore child rights issues related to children of incarcerated parents. The main points of discussion addressed included the impact on children of a parent’s involvement with all stages of the criminal justice process, including coping with a parent in cases involving capital punishment. Several civil society and human rights provided submissions focusing on these issues.51 B. Persons with mental or intellectual disabilities 54. In accordance to Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/64, paragraph 1 (d), States should eliminate the death penalty “for persons suffering from mental retardation or extremely limited mental competence, whether at the stage of sentence or execution”. This was reiterated by the Commission on Human Rights through resolution 2005/59. 55. Human rights organizations reported that, despite a significant national ruling providing that the execution of death row inmates with “mental retardation” violated the Eighth Amendment,52 the United States had continued to execute severely mentally ill persons. For instance, in February 2012, Edwin Turner was executed in Mississippi. He had been released from a mental hospital just weeks before the murder for which he was convicted. Despite the constitutional prohibition, the United States also continued to execute intellectually disabled individuals during the reporting period. In February 2012, Robert Moorman was executed in Arizona, despite the fact he had been diagnosed with mental retardation and attended special education classes as a child. He was first admitted to a mental health hospital at 13 years old. The United States Supreme Court recently 51 52 14 Available from http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/crc/discussion2011_submissions.htm. Atkins v. Virginia, United States Supreme Court, 2002.