In March 2022, The Rights Practice was happy to submit a response to the UN Secretary-General's call for input for his report on the question of the death penalty. His report will be presented at the fifty-first session of the Human Rights Council in September 2022. 

Our submission focuses on China, and developments since 1 July 2020 and the implementation of the safeguards guaranteeing the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty - in particular persons under 18 years of age at the time of the offence, pregnant women and persons with mental or intellectual disabilities.

Since 1 July 2020, judicial transparency in China has further declined hindering both domestic and international understanding of the application of the death penalty in China. Death penalty statistics remain a state secret. Without accurate, and disaggregated, data on the numbers of individuals sentenced to death, and executed, it is impossible for the Chinese government to guarantee the protection of the rights of those facing the death penalty.

Read our full submission here.