Prevention
1. Governments shall
prohibit by law all extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions and shall
ensure that any such executions are recognized as offences under their criminal
laws, and are punishable by appropriate penalties which take into account the
seriousness of such offences. Exceptional circumstances including a state of
war or threat of war, internal political instability or any other public
emergency may not be invoked as a justification of such executions.
Such executions shall
not be carried out under any circumstances including, but not limited to, situations
of internal armed conflict, excessive or illegal use of force by a public
official or other person acting in an official capacity or by a person acting
at the instigation, or with the consent or acquiescence of such person, and
situations in which deaths occur in custody. This prohibition shall prevail
over decrees issued by governmental authority.
2. In order to
prevent extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions, Governments shall ensure
strict control, including a clear chain of command over all officials
responsible for apprehension, arrest, detention, custody and imprisonment, as
well as those officials authorized by law to use force and firearms.
3. Governments shall
prohibit orders from superior officers or public authorities authorizing or
inciting other persons to carry out any such extralegal, arbitrary or summary
executions. All persons shall have the right and the duty to defy such orders.
Training of law enforcement officials shall emphasize the above provisions.
4. Effective protection
through judicial or other means shall be guaranteed to individuals and groups
who are in danger of extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions, including
those who receive death threats.
5. No one shall be
involuntarily returned or extradited to a country where there are substantial
grounds for believing that he or she may become a victim of extra-legal,
arbitrary or summary execution in that country.
6. Governments shall
ensure that persons deprived of their liberty are held in officially recognized
places of custody, and that accurate information on their custody and
whereabouts, including transfers, is made promptly available to their relatives
and lawyer or other persons of confidence.
7. Qualified
inspectors, including medical personnel, or an equivalent independent
authority, shall conduct inspections in places of custody on a regular basis,
and be empowered to undertake unannounced inspections on their own initiative,
with full guarantees of independence in the exercise of this function. The
inspectors shall have unrestricted access to all persons in such places of
custody, as well as to all their records.
8. Governments shall
make every effort to prevent extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions
through measures such as diplomatic intercession, improved access of
complainants to intergovernmental and judicial bodies, and public denunciation.
Intergovernmental mechanisms shall be used to investigate reports of any such
executions and to take effective action against such practices.
Governments,
including those of countries where extra-legal, arbitrary and summary
executions are reasonably suspected to occur, shall cooperate fully in
international investigations on the subject.
Investigation
9. There shall be
thorough, prompt and impartial investigation of all suspected cases of
extra-legal, arbitrary and summary executions, including cases where complaints
by relatives or other reliable reports suggest unnatural death in the above
circumstances. Governments shall maintain investigative offices and procedures
to undertake such inquiries. The purpose of the investigation shall be to
determine the cause, manner and time of death, the person responsible, and any
pattern or practice which may have brought about that death. It shall include an
adequate autopsy, collection and analysis of all physical and documentary
evidence and statements from witnesses. The investigation shall distinguish
between natural death, accidental death, suicide and homicide.
10. The investigative
authority shall have the power to obtain all the information necessary to the
inquiry. Those persons conducting the investigation shall have at their
disposal all the necessary budgetary and technical resources for effective
investigation. They shall also have the authority to oblige officials allegedly
involved in any such executions to appear and testify. The same shall apply to
any witness. To this end, they shall be entitled to issue summonses to
witnesses, including the officials allegedly involved and to demand the production
of evidence.
11. In cases in which
the established investigative procedures are inadequate because of lack of
expertise or impartiality, because of the importance of the matter or because
of the apparent existence of a pattern of abuse, and in cases where there are
complaints from the family of the victim about these inadequacies or other
substantial reasons, Governments shall pursue investigations through an
independent commission of inquiry or similar procedure. Members of such a
commission shall be chosen for their recognized impartiality, competence and
independence as individuals. In particular, they shall be independent of any
institution, agency or person that may be the subject of the inquiry. The
commission shall have the authority to obtain all information necessary to the
inquiry and shall conduct the inquiry as provided for under these Principles.
12. The body of the
deceased person shall not be disposed of until an adequate autopsy is conducted
by a physician, who shall, if possible, be an expert in forensic pathology.
Those conducting the autopsy shall have the right of access to all
investigative data, to the place where the body was discovered, and to the
place where the death is thought to have occurred. If the body has been buried
and it later appears that an investigation is required, the body shall be
promptly and competently exhumed for an autopsy. If skeletal remains are
discovered, they should be carefully exhumed and studied according to
systematic anthropological techniques.
13. The body of the
deceased shall be available to those conducting the autopsy for a sufficient
amount of time to enable a thorough investigation to be carried out. The
autopsy shall, at a minimum, attempt to establish the identity of the deceased
and the cause and manner of death. The time and place of death shall also be
determined to the extent possible. Detailed colour photographs of the deceased
shall be included in the autopsy report in order to document and support the
findings of the investigation. The autopsy report must describe any and all
injuries to the deceased including any evidence of torture.
14. In order to
ensure objective results, those conducting the autopsy must be able to function
impartially and independently of any potentially implicated persons or
organizations or entities.
15. Complainants,
witnesses, those conducting the investigation and their families shall be
protected from violence, threats of violence or any other form of intimidation.
Those potentially implicated in extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions
shall be removed from any position of control or power, whether direct or
indirect. over complainants, witnesses and their families, as well as over
those conducting investigations.
16. Families of the
deceased and their legal representatives shall be informed of, and have access
to. any hearing as well as to all information relevant to the investigation,
and shall be entitled to present other evidence. The family of the deceased
shall have the right to insist that a medical or other qualified representative
be present at the autopsy. When the identity of a deceased person has been
determined, a notification of death shall be posted, and the family or
relatives of the deceased shall be informed immediately. The body of the
deceased shall be returned to them upon completion of the investigation.
17. A written report
shall be made within a reasonable period of time on the methods and findings of
such investigations. The report shall be made public immediately and shall include
the scope of the inquiry, procedures and methods used to evaluate evidence as
well as conclusions and recommendations based on findings of fact and on
applicable law. The report shall also describe in detail specific events that
were found to have occurred and the evidence upon which such findings were
based, and list the names of witnesses who testified, with the exception of
those whose identities have been withheld for their own protection. The
Government shall, within a reasonable period of time, either reply to the
report of the investigation, or indicate the steps to be taken in response to
it.
Legal proceedings
18. Governments shall
ensure that persons identified by the investigation as having participated in
extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions in any territory under their
jurisdiction are brought to justice. Governments shall either bring such
persons to justice or cooperate to extradite any such persons to other
countries wishing to exercise jurisdiction. This principle shall apply irrespective
of who and where the perpetrators or the victims are, their nationalities or
where the offence was committed.
19. Without prejudice
to principle 3 above, an order from a superior officer or a public authority
may not be invoked as a justification for extra-legal, arbitrary or summary
executions. Superiors, officers or other public officials may be held
responsible for acts committed by officials under their authority if they had a
reasonable opportunity to prevent such acts. In no circumstances, including a
state of war, siege or other public emergency, shall blanket immunity from
prosecution be granted to any person allegedly involved in extra-legal,
arbitrary or summary executions.
20. The families and
dependents of victims of extra-legal, arbitrary or summary executions shall be
entitled to fair and adequate compensation within a reasonable period of time.
________
* In resolution
1989/65, paragraph 1, the Economic and Social Council recommended that the
Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extra-legal,
Arbitrary and Summary Executions should be taken into account and respected by
Governments within the framework of their national legislation and practices.
©
Copyright 1997 - 2000
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
Geneva, Switzerland