201. The Court notes that, Article 4 of the Charter provides that: “[H]uman beings are inviolable. Every human being shall be entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived of this right.” 202. The Court recalls its observation on the global trends towards the abolition of the death penalty, represented, in part, by the adoption of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR Second Optional Protocol).97 At the same time, however, it notes that the death penalty remains on the statute books of some States and that no treaty on the abolition of the death penalty has gained universal ratification.98 The Court further notes that as at 28 June 2023, the ICCPR Second Optional Protocol has ninety (90) State Parties out of the one hundred-seventy-three (173) State Parties to the ICCPR.99 203. The Court reiterates its position that despite the global trend towards the abolition of the death penalty, including the adoption of the Second option Protocol to the ICCPR, the prohibition of the death sentence in international law is still not absolute.100 It recalls the well-established international human rights case-law on the criteria to apply in assessing arbitrariness of a death sentence,101 that is (i) whether the death sentence is provided for by law, (ii) whether the sentence was passed by a competent court and (iii) whether due process was followed in the proceedings leading to the death sentence. The Court will therefore make its assessment based on these criteria. 97 Juma v. Tanzania, supra, § 122, and Rajabu and Others v. Tanzania, supra, § 96. Notably, the Respondent State is not a party to the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. 98 For a comprehensive statement on developments in relation to the death penalty, see, United Nations General Assembly Moratorium on the use of the death penalty – A/77/247: Report of the Secretary General on a moratorium on the use of the death penalty, published on 8 August 2022. See https://www.ohchr.org/en/node/103842. 99 https://indicators.ohchr.org/ 100 Rajabu and Others v. Tanzania, supra, § 96. 101 See International Pen and Others (on behalf of Saro-Wiwa) v. Nigeria, Communications 137/94 139/94, 154/96, 161/97 (2000) AHRLR 212 (ACHPR 1998), §§ 1-10 and 103; Forum of Conscience v. Siena Leone, Communication 223/98 (2000) 293 (ACHPR 2000), § 20; See Article 6(2), ICCPR; and Eversley Thompson v. St. Vincent & the Grenadines, Comm. No. 806/1998, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C70IO/806/1998 (2000) (U.N.H.C.R.), § 8.2; See also Ally Rajabu and Others v. Tanzania, supra, § 104. 57