International law prohibits the use of the death penalty for crimes committed by people younger than 18, yet some countries continue to execute child offenders or sentence them to death. As a step towards the total abolition of the death penalty around the world, Amnesty International has launched an international STOP CHILD EXECUTIONS! campaign, calling for an end to one of the most heinous manifestations of the death penalty - its use against child offenders. Although executions of child offenders are few compared to the total number of executions in the world, they represent a disregard by the executing states of their commitments under international law, and an affront to all notions of morality and decency when it comes to the protection of children - one of the most vulnerable groups in society.