perception of justice is also very important here. So far, Bangladesh is not a party to the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (OPICCPR). There is reason to believe that abolition of the death penalty will significantly reduce the acceptability of extrajudicial killings of even heinous criminals in people’s perception. Given that the infliction of the death penalty in a number of cases failed to create any deterrence, the long pending issue of signing and ratifying the OP-ICCPR should be seriously considered by the government. Equality before the Law and Non-Discrimination:117 The Government should identify the remaining problems of discrimination which are practiced either by public authorities, by the community, or by private persons or bodies and should take legislative and administrative measures directed at diminishing or eliminating such discrimination. However, the principle of equality sometimes requires affirmative action in order to diminish or eliminate conditions which cause or help perpetuate discrimination prohibited by the Covenant. For example, in a State where the general conditions of a certain part of the population 118 92 See also, Human Rights Committee, CCPR General Comment No. 23 on the Rights of Minorities (Art. 27), Fiftieth session, April 8, 1994. CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.5 (1994).