The General Assembly,
 
      Considering that the subject of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions has been discussed in the United Nations for many years within the
framework of discussions on human rights based on the general recognition of
the right to life of every person as guaranteed by the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, the provisions of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights and a large number of other international human rights
instruments, that extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions can be fought
effectively only through a genuine will on the part of Governments to enforce
the safeguards and guarantees for the protection of the right to life of every
person, that declarations of commitment to the protection of the right to life
by Governments are only effective if they are translated into practice and
respected by all and that, if the aim is protection of the right to life, the
emphasis must be on prevention of all forms of violations of this fundamental
right,
 
      1.    Strongly condemns once again all the extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions that continue to take place throughout the world;
 
      2.    Demands that all Governments ensure that the practice of
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions be brought to an end and that
they take effective action to combat and eliminate the phenomenon in all its
forms;
 
      3.    Reiterates the obligation of all Governments to conduct exhaustive
and impartial investigations into all suspected cases of extrajudicial,
arbitrary or summary executions, to identify and bring to justice those
responsible, to grant adequate compensation to the victims or their families
and to adopt all necessary measures to prevent the recurrence of such
executions;
 
      4.    Reiterates also that the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on
Human Rights on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions needs to be
able to respond effectively to credible and reliable information that comes
before him, and invites him to continue to seek the views and comments of all
concerned, including Member States, in the elaboration of his report;
 
      5.    Reaffirms Economic and Social Council decision 1995/284 of 25 July
1995, in which the Council approved the decision of the Commission on Human
Rights in its resolution 1995/73 of 8 March 1995 to extend the mandate of the
Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions for a
three-year period, and recommends that the Commission at its fifty-fourth
session continue his mandate;
 
      6.    Takes note of the interim report of the Special Rapporteur;
 
      7.    Notes the important role the Special Rapporteur has played towards
the elimination of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions;
 
      8.    Notes that the Commission on Human Rights, in its resolution
1996/74, requested the Special Rapporteur, in carrying out his mandate:
 
      (a)   To continue to examine situations of extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions and to submit his findings, together with conclusions and
recommendations, to the Commission, as well as such other reports as the
Special Rapporteur deems necessary in order to keep the Commission informed
about such serious situations of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions that warrant its immediate attention;
 
      (b)   To respond effectively to information that comes before him, in
particular when an extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary execution is imminent
or threatened, or when such an execution has occurred;
 
      (c)   To enhance further his dialogue with Governments, as well as to
follow up on recommendations made in reports after visits to particular
countries;
 
      (d)   To continue to pay special attention to extrajudicial, summary or
arbitrary executions of children and women and to allegations concerning
violations of the right to life in the context of violence against
participants in demonstrations and other peaceful public manifestations or
against persons belonging to minorities;
 
      (e)   To pay special attention to extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary
executions where the victims are individuals who are carrying out peaceful
activities in the defence of human rights and fundamental freedoms;
 
      (f)   To continue monitoring the implementation of existing
international standards on safeguards and restrictions relating to the
imposition of capital punishment, bearing in mind the comments made by the
Human Rights Committee in its interpretation of article 6 of the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, as well as the Second Optional
Protocol thereto;
 
      (g)   To apply a gender perspective in his work;
 
      9.    Strongly urges all Governments to respond to the communications
transmitted to them by the Special Rapporteur, and urges them and all others
concerned to cooperate with and assist the Special Rapporteur so that he may
carry out his mandate effectively, including, where appropriate, by issuing
invitations to the Special Rapporteur when he so requests;
 
      10.   Encourages Governments, international organizations and
non-governmental organizations to organize training programmes and to support
projects with a view to training or educating military forces, law enforcement
officers and government officials, as well as members of the United Nations
peacekeeping or observer missions, in human rights and humanitarian law issues
connected with their work, and appeals to the international community to
support endeavours to that end;
 
      11.   Urges the Special Rapporteur to continue to draw to the attention
of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights such situations of
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions as are of particularly serious
concern to him or where early action might prevent further deterioration;
 
      12.   Welcomes the cooperation established between the Special
Rapporteur and other United Nations mechanisms and procedures in the field of
human rights, as well as with medical and forensic experts, and encourages the
Special Rapporteur to continue efforts in this regard;
 
      13.   Encourages the Governments of all States in which the death
penalty has not been abolished to comply with their obligations under the
relevant provisions of international human rights instruments, taking into
account the safeguards and guarantees referred to in Economic and Social
Council resolutions 1984/50 of 25 May 1984 and 1989/64 of 24 May 1989;
 
      14.   Requests the Secretary-General to inform the Commission on Human
Rights of the implementation of Economic and Social Council decision 1995/284,
keeping in mind the comments on this matter by the Special Rapporteur in his
report, in order to enable him to carry out his mandate effectively, including
through country visits;
 
      15.   Again requests the Secretary-General to continue to use his best
endeavours in cases where the minimum standard of legal safeguards provided
for in articles 6, 9, 14 and 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights appears not to have been respected;
 
      16.   Requests the Special Rapporteur to submit to the General Assembly
at its fifty-third session an interim report on the situation worldwide in
regard to extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and his
recommendations for more effective action to combat that phenomenon.