The right to life

Everyone has the right to life, and - according to the international human rights mechanisms - this right can be violated in a variety of ways, including:

• deaths in custody as a result of torture, neglect, the use of force, or life-threatening conditions of detention;

• killings by state agents, or persons acting in direct or indirect compliance with the State, when the force used is not absolutely necessary and proportionate to the circumstances;

• expulsion or "refoulement" (illegal return) of persons to a country where their lives are in danger;

• failure by the state to investigate alleged violations of the right to life and to bring those responsible to justice.

International human rights mechanisms also place limits on the use of the death penalty.

International human rights mechanisms which protect the right to life

The right to life is protected by the following international human rights mechanisms (click on the links to find out more about how to use these mechanisms):

United Nations Human Rights Committee

Special Representative on Human Rights Defenders

Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions

Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women

1503 Procedure

Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

African Commission on Human and People's Rights

European Court of Human Rights