A/HRC/27/23 United Nations General Assembly Distr.: General 30 June 2014 Original: English Human Rights Council Twenty-seventh 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 Pursuant to Human Rights Council decision 18/117, the present report is submitted in order to update previous reports on the question of the death penalty. The report confirms that the trend towards the universal abolition of the death penalty is continuing. However, numerous concerns remain with regard to the lack of respect for international human rights norms and standards in States that still impose the death penalty. As requested in Human Rights Council resolution 22/11, the report also includes information on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed. GE.14-06851 (E) *1406851*