A/HRC/RES/54/35 Recalling that persons sentenced to death, their families and their lawyers should be provided with timely and reliable information on the procedures and timing of appeals, clemency petitions and executions, Stressing the need to examine further in which circumstances the imposition or application of the death penalty violates the prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, including because of the death row phenomenon, the methods of execution or the lack of transparency around executions, Emphasizing that access to consular assistance for foreign nationals, provided for in the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, is an important aspect of the protection of those facing the death penalty abroad, 1. Urges all States to protect the rights of persons facing the death penalty and other affected persons by complying with their international obligations; 2. Calls upon States that have not yet acceded to or ratified the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, aiming at the abolition of the death penalty, to consider doing so; 3. Calls upon States that have not yet abolished the death penalty to take active steps to reduce the number of offences for which the death penalty may be imposed and to limit them strictly to “the most serious crimes”; 4. Calls upon States that provide for or apply the mandatory death penalty to end this practice; 5. Urges all States to respect international standards that provide safeguards guaranteeing protection of the human rights of those facing the death penalty, in particular the minimum standards, as set out in the annex to Economic and Social Council resolution 1984/50; 6. Also urges all States to ensure that all legal proceedings, including those before special tribunals or jurisdictions, and particularly those relating to capital offences, uphold the rights and are consistent with the minimum procedural guarantees contained in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, including: (a) That those facing the death penalty can exercise their right to apply for pardon or commutation of their death sentence, notably by ensuring necessary procedural guarantees, such as that conditions for attaining pardons or commutations are not unnecessarily burdensome, discriminatory in nature or applied in an arbitrary and non-transparent manner, that clemency applications are heard within a reasonable period of time, and that certainty is provided regarding the pardon and commutation procedures; (b) That everyone sentenced to death has the right to have his or her conviction and sentence reviewed by a higher tribunal according to the law, and that the conviction and sentence are reviewed on the merits, on the basis of the sufficiency of the evidence and the law, while taking particular care to consider and investigate fully allegations that a death sentence is based on evidence elicited through torture or ill-treatment, noting that the Manual on the Effective Investigation and Documentation of Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (Istanbul Protocol) can provide useful guidance regarding investigations into such allegations, and that civilian courts have the right to review any death sentences issued against civilians by military tribunals; 7. Calls upon States to ensure that all accused persons, in particular poor and economically vulnerable persons and persons with disabilities, can exercise their rights relating to equal access to justice, to ensure adequate, qualified and effective legal representation at every stage of civil and criminal proceedings in cases of capital punishment through effective legal assistance, and to ensure that those facing the death penalty can exercise their right to seek pardon or commutation of their death sentence; 8. Also calls upon States to comply with their obligations under article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, and to inform without delay foreign nationals who have been arrested or detained of their right to contact the relevant consular post and to communicate with their consular representatives, bearing in mind that failure to promptly 4