Protocol No. 6, the predecessor of the protocol referred to in the Senator's amendment, allows for derogation in time of war or imminent threat of war. We ratified the protocol on 24 June 1994. Under the 1990 Act, the State was in a position to ratify the second optional protocol to the UN International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights which also abolished the death penalty but allowed for a reservation in time of war. At the time of ratification of that particular international treaty the Government declined to avail of this qualification.