The rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or subject to execution are seldom discussed and have largely been neglected.
10/10/2017
The rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or subject to execution are seldom discussed and have largely been neglected. It is crucial that we bring the child’s perspective into these reflections
In recent years, we have seen some promising developments at the global level: in September 2013, the Human Rights Council of the United Nations held an important panel discussion on the rights of children of parents sentenced to the death penalty or executed, and the topic has been given special attention in the reports of the Secretary-General on the question of death penalty. The Committee on the Rights of the Child has addressed it in reviewing States parties’ reports on national implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. The topic has also been raised in the Universal Periodic Review process.
Several international and regional human rights instruments prohibit the use of capital punishment, promote its abolition and strictly limit its use to punish the “most serious crimes”. Some 160 States have abolished or introduced a moratorium on the death penalty either in law or practice, and some have suspended its enforcement.
Despite a general trend away from the use of capital punishment, in some countries there is lack of transparency surrounding executions and at times data regarding the use of the death penalty is classified as a state secret. Needless to say, it is even more difficult to obtain information about the children and families affected by the execution of a parent. Improved data collection and sound research are urgently needed in this area.
According to available studies, the death penalty disproportionately affects the poor and persons from ethnic, racial and religious minorities. The stigma faced by children whose parent has been sentenced to death may thus be compounded by multiple other forms of discrimination.
Indeed, the protection of the rights of the child enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child is a very distant dream for these children: their best interest is not duly taken into account and protected (article 3); their right to freedom from violence is not safeguarded (article 19); their right to special protection and assistance when State action causes a child to be deprived of his or her family environment is not given due attention (article 20); and the right to an adequate standard of living for the child’s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development is not fulfilled either (article 27(1)).
To a child, the loss of a parent is deeply traumatic in any circumstances. But, unlike a parent’s death from natural causes, when it results from a State-sanctioned execution, it is especially confusing and frightening. Children find it hard to understand and explain their situation and are tempted to go into denial it and hide their feelings. These children need compassionate support and accurate information about the situation of their parent on an on-going