Committee to inquire into Australia's global efforts to abolish the death penalty

THE Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, through the Human Rights Subcommittee (the Subcommittee), has commenced an inquiry into Australia's efforts to advocate for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty.

The inquiry was referred by the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Penny Wong on June 27, 2024 with specific Terms of Reference.

Chair of the Subcommittee, Maria Vamvakinou said, “there is no place for the death penalty in the modern world. State executions are cruel and are often associated with miscarriages of justice; all too often, innocent people are put to death and around the world, minorities and those with disabilities are disproportionately sentenced to death.”

The Subcommittee will look also into progress against the recommendations in the 2017 Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade report: A world without the death penalty: Australia's Advocacy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty.

Submissions from interested individuals and organisations addressing the terms of reference for this inquiry are invited by August 2, 2024. The preferred method of receiving submissions is by electronic format lodged online using a My Parliament account.

Further information about the committee’s inquiry is available on the committee’s website.

 

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