Table of Contents Preface.................................................................................. 5 Introduction.......................................................................... 7 A. The nature of the right and of the obligations of the State in respect of the right to life....................................... 8 B. The scope of the prohibition on the ‘arbitrary’ deprivation of life ........................................................... 10 C. The requirement of accountability ................................... 10 D. The abolition of the death penalty ................................... 12 E. The use of force in law enforcement ................................ 13 F. The use of force in armed conflict.................................... 15 G. State obligations with respect to persons held in custody .......................................................................... 15 H. Responsibility for violations by non-State actors .............. 16 I. Interpreting the right to life broadly ................................. 17 3