In 2010, eight underage criminals between the ages of 14 and 19 at the time of first conviction were executed by the Seafaring Confederation on charges of rape and sexual assault. The execution sparked controversy abroad, with many nations condemning the execution and an official enquiry by the United Nations into the practice of capital punishment in the Seafaring Confederation. It created diplomatic tensions between the Seafaring Confederation and the European Union and much of the Western world. Domestic responses were few and often in support of the executions.