THE DEATH PENALTY IN THE OSCE AREA
INTRODUCTION1
The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe has 55 participating
States, the majority of which have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. Chapter 1
lists the participating States and classifies them as abolitionist, partly abolitionist, de
facto abolitionist, or retentionist.
While OSCE participating States are not required to abolish the death penalty,
there are a number of commitments regarding its use. In particular, participating States
have committed themselves to impose the death penalty only in a manner that is not
contrary to their international commitments. Accordingly, Chapter 2 provides an
overview of the international standards on the death penalty that have been developed
within the forums of the OSCE, the United Nations, the Council of Europe, and the
European Union.
The participating States that retain the death penalty have also committed themselves to make information on its use available to the public. Chapter 3 facilitates the
compliance of participating States with this commitment by providing a forum for the
publication and dissemination of such information. It is the ODIHR’s intention that this
chapter be based primarily on information received from the participating States themselves. It includes information on the legal framework, statistics on sentences and executions, and information on compliance with the international standards outlined in
Chapter 2.
Finally, a copy of the questionnaire that was sent to the participating States
requesting information on the use of the death penalty is attached as an annex along
with full-text reproductions of the relevant OSCE commitments and other international
standards and a ratifications table.
1
This paper updates Background Paper 2003/1. The reporting period covered by this paper is from
30 June 2003 to 30 June 2004. Information on developments that have occurred since 30 June
2004 will be indicated as such.
4