Pakistan: The death penalty for juveniles

The recent case of Salamat Masih, a Christian juvenile sentenced to death on 9 February 1995 (but released on appeal), raised international awareness of the fact that Pakistan is one of the few countries that still use the death penalty against juveniles. (Other countries known to have executed juveniles since 1990 are: Yemen, Saudi Arabia and the USA.) AI considers the imposition of the death penalty on children and juveniles to run counter to Pakistan’s obligations as a state party to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. This paper examines Pakistan’s position vis-a-vis this Convention and also discusses the legal position of juveniles and children in Pakistan.

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