Ndiaye, in a report to the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva on Friday, recommended the suspension of death penalty after finding that race and economic status influenced the severity of sentencing and said the defendants who could afford a better defence were usually spared.

The report said: ``Information brought to the attention of the special rapporteur indicates that a significant degree of unfairness and arbitrariness of death penalty still prevail''. The UN investigator charged that death penalty handed in the US to juveniles and the mentally retarded was in violation of international law.

Ndiaye also criticised political dimension of the penalty, saying the elected judges there often feel compelled to order unwarranted executions in order to appeal toconstituents.

The report was presented to the Geneva-based Human Rights Commission, whose 53 members passed a resolution (26 in favour and 13 against it) demanding that all states reject the death penalty, particularly against pregnant women, minors and those committing less than the most serious offences.

Defending his country's policies, US ambassador George Moose said, ``We believe that in a democratic society, criminal justice system, including punishments prescribed for the most serious crimes, should reflect the will of the people freely expressed and appropriately implemented.

At present, a majority of the states have chosen to retain the option of capital punishment for the most serious crimes''. The report also came in for sharp criticism from several quarters in the US, including the Congress with Marc Thiessen, spokesman of chairman of foreign relations committee spolicies.

Among the countries which voted against the resolution included the US, China, Japan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Botswana,Indonesia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malaysia, Pakistan, Rwanda, South Korea and Sudan.