INTRODUCTION / WORK WITH INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS
violations in this area. The Sub-Commission's Working Group on Detention decided to continue its discussion of the death penalty, particularly its imposi- tion on juveniles, at its next session. Amnesty International made a statement to the Working Group on the imposition of the death penalty on offenders under the age of 18 years, giving examples from Iran, Nigeria and the USA. It noted the raising of the minimum age for execution in Barbados and the reintroduction of the death penalty for juveniles under 18 and over 16 in St Vincent and the Grenadines. The Working Group also decided to examine the question of the right to habeas corpus as a non-derogable right which would complement another on-going Sub-Commission study on fair trial. As at the Commission, there was considerable discussion in the Sub-Commission about methods and organization of work, but no final decisions were taken.
The Eighth UN Congress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders was held in Havana, Cuba, from 27 August to 7 September. The UN Crime Congresses, which are convened by and report to the General Assembly, are held every five years and are responsible for reviewing and setting the UN's crime prevention and criminal justice program. The Eighth UN Crime Congress, the theme of which was "international cooperation in crime prevention and criminal justice for the twenty-first century", was one of the largest, attended by delegates from 127 countries as well as representatives from intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOS), and 350 experts. The Congress adopted 46 resolutions, all by consensus, including four new human rights stan- dards described below. These represent an important contribution to the growing body of international instruments for the protection of human rights. The only resolution which was not adopted concerned the death penalty, calling on states which retain this punishment to consider imposing a three-year moratorium on its use in order to permit a study of the effects of abolition. The resolution failed to secure the required two-thirds majority for adoption, although 48 votes were cast in favour of it with 29 against and 16 abstentions.
One of the most important new standards adopted by the Eighth UN Crime Congress in the field of human rights protection was the Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials (see Appendix IX). This imposes strict restraints on the permissible use of force and firearms and requires governments to introduce regulations governing the use of force and firearms as well as proper reporting procedures and measures to punish arbitrary or abusive use of force or firearms. Another important instrument adopted by the Eighth Congress was the Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers (see Appendix X). This instrument contains measures both to guarantee the basic right of access of indi- viduals to legal assistance and to protect lawyers from interference or intimida- tion in the carrying out of their professional duties. In addition to these two instruments, the Congress agreed the text of a new set of un Rules for the Pro- tection of Juveniles Deprived of Their Liberty, which was subsequently adopted by the General Assembly in Resolution 45/113 of 14 December 1990. It also adopted Guidelines for the Role of Prosecutors, which includes provisions requiring prosecutors to give due attention to the prosecution of grave human
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AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL REPORT 1991