A/RES/65/208 Acknowledging that extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions may under certain circumstances amount to genocide, crimes against humanity or war crimes, as defined in international law, including in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, 5 and recalling in this regard that each individual State has the responsibility to protect its populations from such crimes as set out in General Assembly resolutions 60/1 of 16 September 2005 and 63/308 of 14 September 2009, Convinced of the need for effective action to prevent, combat and eliminate the abhorrent practice of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, which represent flagrant violations of human rights or a negative impact on the enjoyment of human rights, particularly the right to life, Strongly condemns once again all the extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary 1. executions that continue to occur throughout the world; Demands that all States ensure that the practice of extrajudicial, summary 2. or arbitrary executions is brought to an end and that they take effective action to prevent, combat and eliminate the phenomenon in all its forms and manifestations; Reiterates the obligation of all States to conduct exhaustive and impartial 3. investigations into all suspected cases of extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, to identify and bring to justice those responsible, while ensuring the right of every person to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law, to grant adequate compensation within a reasonable time to the victims or their families and to adopt all necessary measures, including legal and judicial measures, to put an end to impunity and to prevent the further occurrence of such executions, as recommended in the Principles on the Effective Prevention and Investigation of Extralegal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions; 6 Calls upon Governments, and invites intergovernmental and 4. non-governmental organizations, to pay greater attention to the work of national-level commissions of inquiry into extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions with a view to ensuring the effective contribution of these commissions to accountability and to combating impunity; Calls upon all States, in order to prevent extrajudicial, summary or 5. arbitrary executions, to comply with their obligations under relevant provisions of international human rights instruments, and further calls upon States which retain the death penalty to pay particular regard to the provisions contained in articles 6, 14 and 15 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights2 and articles 37 and 40 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 7 bearing in mind the safeguards and guarantees set out in Economic and Social Council resolutions 1984/50 of 25 May 1984 and 1989/64 of 24 May 1989 and taking into account the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur of the Human Rights Council on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions regarding the need to respect essential procedural guarantees, including the right to seek pardon or commutation of sentence; _______________ 5 Ibid., vol. 2187, No. 38544. Economic and Social Council resolution 1989/65, annex. 7 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1577, No. 27531. 6 2