Livestreaming executions in the US would violate the ban on torture, the UN human rights office has warned

The statement came after US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth vowed to publicly execute Nidal Malik Hasan, who was sentenced to death by a military jury after being found guilty of killing 13 people and wounding 32 in a 2009 shooting at the Fort Hood military base in Texas.

OHCHRShabia Mantoo responds to journalists’ questions at a press conference in Geneva.

He noted that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, in response to public executions in Afghanistan and Iran had previously emphasized that such executions “constitute a form of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

“Failure to respect this prohibition will inevitably result in arbitrary executions, and result in violations of the right to life and the absolute prohibition against torture.,” the spokesperson added.

UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said at a press conference Friday in New York that “the possibility of…the government executing someone in public or on camera is, frankly, abhorrent”.

Call to stop executions in Tennessee

Earlier this month, OHCHR also called on authorities in the US state of Tennessee to make no further attempts to execute Christa Pike, saying her case highlighted why the death penalty should be abolished.

“The death penalty has no place in any society, and the case of Christa Pike reveals the many reasons why the death penalty should be abolished.,” said UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani.

“The prolonged suffering he endured was disgusting and cruel. The main issue of fair trials remains unresolvedhe said.

Miss Pike survived the failed execution attempt and regained consciousness on October 6.

Responding to the failed execution, Tennessee Department of Corrections Commissioner Frank Strada said he would resign at the end of this month.

Execution increases

In a report to Human Rights Council on the question of the death penalty, published in August 2025, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres welcomed steady progress towards abolishing the death penalty worldwide, but expressed concern that fewer countries were significantly increasing the number of executions.

The report, citing figures from Amnesty International, notes this 1,518 executions recorded in 15 countries in 2024, a 32 percent increase from 2023.

In the United States, the report noted that the President signed an executive order on January 20, 2025 lifting the federal moratorium on the death penalty, and that South Carolina had carried out executions by firing squad in March of that year – the first in the US in 15 years.

“Pending abolition, states must not violate article 7 of the Covenant by carrying out cruel, painful or humiliating executions,” the report said, referring to International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.