International Commission Against the Death Penalty April 2026
I am very pleased to welcome the ICDP Commissioners, Helen Clark and Tsakhia Elbegdorj [TSAA-khee-uh EL-beg-dorj], to Australia. Thank you also to the ICDP Support Group members for taking the time to hear from the Commissioners on ICDP’s current activities in the Pacific and beyond.
As Australia’s Special Envoy for International Human Rights, I look forward to being part of our collective efforts for the abolition of the death penalty.
While most Pacific countries have abolished the death penalty, ratification of the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights remains low, and we look forward to hearing more on the ICDP’s concept of the Pacific as a ‘death penalty free region’.
As a Pacific nation, Australia is a reliable partner for the region. Together we are building a stronger Pacific family, upholding our common values, and in these challenging times, we count on each other to each play our part in a shared Pacific that is peaceful, stable, prosperous and unified.
Australia is proud to support ICDP, and we applaud ICDP’s important role in promoting abolition of the death penalty in our region.
Together, as members of the ICDP Support Group, we can encourage retentionist countries across the globe to establish a moratorium on executions as a step towards abolition; reduce the number of crimes that attract the death penalty; increase transparency around its use; and ensure compliance with all international human rights law obligations.
It is deeply concerning that more than 2,000 death sentences were recorded across 46 countries, and more than 28,000 people were known to be under sentence of death globally at the end of 2024, too high a number in this day and age.
Australia opposes the death penalty in all circumstances for all people. This is a longstanding and principled position of successive Australian governments.
The death penalty offers no prospect of rehabilitation; is disproportionately used against people in vulnerable situations; and is an irreversible, brutal and inhumane punishment.
Research shows that the death penalty does not deter crime, and crime figures from countries which have banned the death penalty have not risen on abolition – in some cases, they have even decreased.
From this, we know it can be different.
Thankfully, the move towards global abolition of the death penalty reflects growing consensus it has no place in modern society, with nearly two thirds of countries now abolitionist in law or in practice.
Australia utilises all avenues to advocate for global abolition in line with Australia’s Strategy for Global Abolition of the Death Penalty. And we will continue to do so.
The death penalty is a matter of human rights and the inherent dignity of every human being.
Australia looks forward to continuing its important work together as members of the ICDP Support Group. Thank you.
