South Sudan: Strengthen human rights and accountability mechanisms: Human Rights Council: Establish an Independent Expert mandate

In November 2011, South Sudan notified the UN Secretary-General of its succession to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and their Destruction. [...] Amnesty International is opposed to the death penalty as a violation of the right to life and as the ultimate cruel, inhumane and degrading punishment, in all cases without exception, regardless of the nature of the crime, characteristics of the offender, or the method used by the state to carry out the execution. [...] International standards, including the 1984 UN Safeguards Guaranteeing Protection of the Rights of Those Facing the Death Penalty and UN Commission on Human Rights resolution 2005/59,5 require strict adherence to fair trial standards, which include the presumption of innocence, and for all of the proceedings the right to adequate legal assistance, and, if necessary, the free assistance of an inter [...] Furthermore, they protect the right of convicted persons to appeal to a higher tribunal and the prohibition of the use of the death penalty against, among other groups, persons who were under the age of 18 at the time the crime was committed and people with mental or intellectual disabilities. [...] Furthermore, the Transitional Constitution and the Penal Code, 2003 only prohibit the imposition of the death penalty on a person under the age of 18, whereas the relevant point in time is the commission of the crime, not the age of the offender at the time of the execution.