RES/22/11 Panel on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed

GE.13-12847

Human Rights Council Twenty-second session

Agenda item 3 Promotion and protection of all human rights, civil,

political, economic, social and cultural rights,

including the right to development

Resolution adopted by the Human Rights Council

22/11.

Panel on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death

penalty or executed

The Human Rights Council,

Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the International Covenants on Human Rights and other relevant international human rights instruments,

Reaffirming the purposes and principles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, in particular its articles 2, 3, 9 and 20, and the obligations of State parties thereto,

Mindful of all forms through which a child can be separated from his or her parents against their will, in particular when the separation results from any action initiated by a State,

Welcoming the day of general discussion on children of incarcerated parents, held by the Committee on the Rights of the Child on 30 September 2011, and taking note with interest of the outcomes thereof,

Recalling Human Rights Council resolution 19/37 of 23 March 2012 on the rights of the child,

Deeply concerned at the negative impact of the imposition and carrying out of the death penalty on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed,

1. Acknowledges the negative impact of a parent’s death sentence and his or her execution on his or her children, and urges States to provide those children with the protection and assistance they may require;

 The resolutions and decisions adopted by the Human Rights Council will be contained in the report of

the Council on its twenty-second session (A/HRC/22/2), chap. I.

2. Calls upon States to provide those children or, where appropriate, giving due consideration to the best interests of the child, another member of the family, with access to their parents and to all relevant information about the situation of their parents;

3. Decides to convene, at its twenty-fourth session, a panel discussion on the human rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed, with a particular focus on the ways and means to ensure the full enjoyment of their rights;

4. Requests the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to organize the panel discussion and to liaise with States, relevant United Nations bodies, agencies, treaty bodies, special procedures and regional human rights mechanisms, as well as with civil society, including non-governmental organizations, and national human rights institutions, with a view to ensuring their contribution to the panel discussion;

5. Also requests the Office of the High Commissioner to prepare a report on the outcome of the panel discussion in the form of a summary, and to present it to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fifth session;

6. Decides that the yearly supplement to the quinquennial report of the Secretary-General on the question of the death penalty, mandated by Human Rights Council decision 18/117 of 28 September 2011, will continue to inform on this matter.

48th meeting

21 March 2013

[Adopted without a vote.]