Stop Child Executions! Ending the death penalty for child offenders

Index Number: ACT 50/015/2004
Date Published: 14 September 2004

International law prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by people younger than 18, yet some countries continue to execute child offenders or sentence them to death. Although executions of child offenders are few compared to the total number of executions in the world, they represent a complete disregard by the executing states of their commitments under international law, and an affront to all notions of morality and decency when it comes to the protection of children. This document describes the use of the death penalty against child offenders worldwide and its prohibition under international law.