The course will explore elements of the international legal protection afforded to the right to life, as seen from the perspective of the mandate of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions. The first session is simply entitled 'The right to life and its protection' and will deal with the international (global and regional) human rights norms and machinery dealing with the right to life, and in particular set out the role of the mandate in this context with reference to concrete examples of its work. The second session is entitled 'When the state kills' and deals with  the use of force by law enforcement officials and the death penalty. The third session is entitled 'Technology and the protection of the right to life' and covers drones; autonomous weapons; and the role of information and communication technology.