As UN member states begin three days of debate on the rights of the child, more than 300 nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) from 82 countries called on the UN General Assembly to take urgent action to end executions for crimes committed by children.

Amina Masood Janjua was scheduled to travel from Geneva to Washington, DC, on September 12, 2008, but at the last moment the US Embassy in Islamabad informed her that her US visa had been rescinded.

Ending executions for crimes committed by children in just five countries would result in universal implementation of the prohibition on the juvenile death penalty, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Governments should use next week’s United Nations General Assembly session opening to commit to urgently needed reforms to protect the rights of children in conflict with the law.

The newly elected government in Pakistan should abolish the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gillani.

Charges carrying the death penalty have significantly increased in recent years in Pakistan, resulting in a much higher number of death sentences and executions. Pakistan has over 95,000 people in custody for criminal offenses, of which approximately 67 percent (about 63,600) are pre-trial detainees. Out of the more than 31,400 convicts, nearly a quarter—over 7,000 individuals, including almost 40 women—have been sentenced to death, and are either involved in lengthy appeals processes or awaiting execution after all appeals have been exhausted.

Human Rights Watch's submission documents laws and practices resulting in the death penalty against juvenile offenders in the five countries known to have executed juvenile offenders since January 2005: Iran, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Yemen.