The Bali Nine, Capital Punishment and Australia's Obligation to Seek Abolition

Abstract

The executions of Australian nationals Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran in April 2015 brought capital punishment to the forefront of public consciousness in Australia. Indonesia carried out their death sentences, and those of six others convicted of drug offences, despite Australia’s determined advocacy for clemency. Their deaths represent a tiny fraction of the numbers killed in execution of the death penalty each year, but ought to prompt a renewed inquiry into the global practice of capital punishment and Australia’s position in relation to it. This article identifies the states which continue to impose the death penalty and those which oppose it. It then situates capital punishment as a human rights issue, and explores how Australia can fully undertake its international legal commitments through more prominent and effective advocacy for the abolition of the death penalty worldwide.

Keywords: death penalty, Australia, Indonesia, human rights, abolition, advocacy, international law, Bali Nine, Chan, Sukumaran