Report of the Secretary General on the
Question on the Death Penalty
(A/HRC/33/20)
Submitted to the Human Rights Council (33rd Session)
12 JULY 2016
“Methods and procedures in some States result in the judgment of juveniles as adults and, subsequently, the
subjection of juveniles to the death penalty. In Pakistan, trial courts are obliged to determine the defendant’s
age. Courts, however, reportedly often fail to undertake that assessment and place the burden of proof of age
upon the defendant, despite a significant number of citizens possessing no official documentation with which
to prove their age. During the reporting period, cases were reported where proof was presented but disregarded
by the court in favour of visual assessments conducted by the police or unverified documentation supplied by
the claimant, or where evidence was dismissed due to it being raised at the “incorrect” stage of proceedings.”
(para 53)
"Most children who are arrested are poor or illiterate and thus unaware of
their rights under the JJSO. As a result, they do not know the importance
of recording their age."
- Atif Adnan Khan, Sahil