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Capital Punishment and Australian Foreign Policy

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Capital Punishment and Australian Foreign Policy POLICY BRIEF August 2006 DR MICHAEL FULLILOVE Capital Punishment and Program Director Global Issues Australian Foreign Policy Tel: +61 2 8238 9040 [email protected] W h a t i s t h e p r o b l e m ? Australia is an abolitionist country. Both the Australian Government and the Opposition are opposed to capital punishment. Australia engages in modest advocacy against the death penalty but most of Canberra’s efforts are directed toward cases involving Australian citizens. These are likely to continue to occur: our closest Asian neighbours retain the death penalty, and Australian nationals will probably continue to commit criminal acts carrying this penalty. Situations involving Australians often do violence to bilateral relations. For example, the looming execution of Van Tuong Nguyen last year led to calls from Australian commentators for trade and business sanctions against Singapore, and charges of hypocrisy being levelled against Australia in the regional press. The problem, then, is twofold: Australian diplomacy is making little progress toward universal abolition, a bipartisan national policy; and our bilateral relationships are being damaged because of our perceived hypocrisy on the issue. W h a t s h o u l d b e d o n e ? Australia is an effective advocate for our nationals on death row. However, we should accelerate our efforts on comprehensive abolition, in two ways: • Australian political leaders should bring some consistency to their rhetoric on the death penalty; and • Australia should initiate a regional coalition against capital punishment. In the past decade five Asian states have done away with the death penalty. In partnership with abolitionist Asian states, we should devise creative ways to nudge others toward abolition. LOWY INSTITUTE FOR Speaking with one voice on capital punishment and leading from the front INTERNATIONAL POLICY would increase our chances of making a difference. It would also disarm 31 Bligh Street those regional critics who charge that Australia cares only about its own. In Sydney NSW 2000 other words a forward-leaning policy would conform with Australian Tel: +61 2 8238 9000 interests as well as Australian values. It would be the smart thing to do as Fax: +612 8238 9005 well as the right thing. www.lowyinstitute.org qÜÉ=içïó=fåëíáíìíÉ=Ñçê=fåíÉêå~íáçå~ä=mçäáÅó=áë=~å=áåÇÉéÉåÇÉåí=áåíÉêå~íáçå~ä=éçäáÅó=íÜáåâ=í~åâ= Ä~ëÉÇ=áå=póÇåÉóI=^ìëíê~äá~K==fíë=ã~åÇ~íÉ=ê~åÖÉë=~Åêçëë=~ää=íÜÉ=ÇáãÉåëáçåë=çÑ=áåíÉêå~íáçå~ä=éçäáÅó= ÇÉÄ~íÉ=áå=^ìëíê~äá~=Ô=ÉÅçåçãáÅI=éçäáíáÅ~ä=~åÇ=ëíê~íÉÖáÅ=Ô=~åÇ=áí=áë=åçí=äáãáíÉÇ=íç=~=é~êíáÅìä~ê= ÖÉçÖê~éÜáÅ=êÉÖáçåK==fíë=íïç=ÅçêÉ=í~ëâë=~êÉ=íçW= = • éêçÇìÅÉ=ÇáëíáåÅíáîÉ=êÉëÉ~êÅÜ=~åÇ=ÑêÉëÜ=éçäáÅó=çéíáçåë=Ñçê=^ìëíê~äá~Ûë=áåíÉêå~íáçå~ä=éçäáÅó=~åÇ= íç=ÅçåíêáÄìíÉ=íç=íÜÉ=ïáÇÉê=áåíÉêå~íáçå~ä=ÇÉÄ~íÉK=== = • éêçãçíÉ= ÇáëÅìëëáçå= çÑ= ^ìëíê~äá~Ûë= êçäÉ= áå= íÜÉ= ïçêäÇ=Äó= éêçîáÇáåÖ= = ~å= ~ÅÅÉëëáÄäÉ= ~åÇ= ÜáÖÜ= èì~äáíó= Ñçêìã= Ñçê= ÇáëÅìëëáçå= çÑ= ^ìëíê~äá~å= áåíÉêå~íáçå~ä= êÉä~íáçåë= íÜêçìÖÜ= ÇÉÄ~íÉëI= ëÉãáå~êëI=äÉÅíìêÉëI=Çá~äçÖìÉë=~åÇ=ÅçåÑÉêÉåÅÉëK= = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = içïó= fåëíáíìíÉ= mçäáÅó= _êáÉÑë= ~êÉ= ÇÉëáÖåÉÇ= íç= ~ÇÇêÉëë= ~= é~êíáÅìä~êI= ÅìêêÉåí= éçäáÅó= áëëìÉ= ~åÇ= íç= ëìÖÖÉëí=ëçäìíáçåëK=qÜÉó=~êÉ=ÇÉäáÄÉê~íÉäó=éêÉëÅêáéíáîÉI=ëéÉÅáÑáÅ~ääó=~ÇÇêÉëëáåÖ=íïç=èìÉëíáçåëW=tÜ~í= áë=íÜÉ=éêçÄäÉã\=tÜ~í=ëÜçìäÇ=ÄÉ=ÇçåÉ\= = qÜÉ= îáÉïë= ÉñéêÉëëÉÇ= áå= íÜáë= é~éÉê= ~êÉ= ÉåíáêÉäó= íÜÉ= ~ìíÜçêÛë= çïå= ~åÇ= åçí= íÜçëÉ= çÑ= íÜÉ= içïó= fåëíáíìíÉ=Ñçê=fåíÉêå~íáçå~ä=mçäáÅóK= Policy Brief Capital Punishment and Australian foreign Policy Capital punishment in Asia and the world However, the news is not all bad for those who oppose capital punishment; indeed, progress is The death penalty is an ugly feature of the being made. Since 1990, over forty countries world in which we live. 71 countries and have abolished the death penalty for all crimes. territories retain and use the death penalty. In our own region, five Asian states have Accurate numbers are impossible to obtain abolished the death penalty in the past decade because many countries refuse to produce and a half: Cambodia (1989), Nepal (1997), official statistics on death sentences and Timor-Leste (1999), Bhutan (2004), and the executions. However, Amnesty International Philippines, where President Gloria Macapagal- estimates that at least 2,148 people were Arroyo signed a bill outlawing the death executed in 2005 and 5,186 people were penalty on 24 June this year. In addition, sentenced to death. The global death row Brunei Darussalam, Maldives, Myanmar and accommodates at least 20,000 individuals. Sri Lanka are regarded as abolitionist in These are minimum figures: the actual totals practice, even if not at law.4 are probably much higher.1 The Asian region, in which Australia does Why is the death penalty an issue for much of its commercial and diplomatic Australia? business, is world’s best practice when it comes to executing people. Fifteen Asian states retain The persistence of capital punishment in our the death penalty for ordinary crimes: region and around the world is an issue for Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, Japan, Australia, and not only when the condemned North Korea, South Korea, Laos, Malaysia, person is an Australian national.5 In the case of Mongolia, Pakistan, Singapore, Taiwan, Australians, of course, the case is black and Thailand and Vietnam.2 China and Singapore white. All governments have a consular in particular have distinguished themselves. responsibility to assist their nationals when Public reports indicate that at least 1,770 they are in difficulties abroad, especially when people were executed in China last year, which their lives are at risk. Shortly after the represents more than 80% of known execution of Nguyen Tuong Van last executions worldwide. (Again, the true number December, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer is likely to be much higher than this.) In the stated the position plainly: ‘We will always period 1999-2003, Singapore boasted by far make representations on behalf of Australian the highest per capita execution rate in the citizens who are given the death penalty. We world: 6.9 executions per 1 million people. will always seek clemency on their behalf.’6 Since 2000, methods of execution in Asia have included hanging (Japan and Singapore), Van Nguyen was the first Australian to be shooting by firing squad or with a single bullet executed in Singapore since its independence to the back of the head (China, Taiwan and and the first to be executed overseas since Vietnam), and lethal injection (China and 1993. However he is unlikely to be the last. Thailand).3 Currently, at least four Australian nationals are at serious risk of execution:7 Page 3 Policy Brief Capital Punishment and Australian foreign Policy • Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran of innocent people will be executed because of the the Bali Nine, sentenced to death in inability of legal systems (especially, but February for attempted heroin smuggling, certainly not only, in the developing world) to are appealing their convictions. Recent eliminate error and prejudice; that it causes comments by Indonesian President Susilo unacceptable suffering to the condemned and Bambang Yudhoyono indicated that their innocent loved ones; that it is does not clemency is unlikely to be awarded to deter the commission of crime. One of the most convicted drug traffickers. compelling historical critiques of capital punishment was George Orwell’s account of a • Trinh Huu, sentenced to death last hanging in colonial Burma. Walking behind the December in Vietnam for drug trafficking, condemned man on the way to the gallows, had his appeal rejected in April. He has Orwell noticed him step slightly aside to avoid applied for clemency. a puddle on the path: • An unnamed Australian in Lebanon is facing murder charges which could lead to ‘It is curious, but till that moment I had never a sentence of death. The case has not yet realized what it means to destroy a healthy, gone to trial. conscious man. When I saw the prisoner step aside to avoid the puddle, I saw the mystery, Furthermore, other Australians are likely to the unspeakable wrongness, of cutting a life join them on death row. Many of our closest short when it is in full tide. This man was not neighbours, including our key source and dying, he was alive just as we were alive. All transit countries, retain the death penalty for the organs of his body were working – bowels drug trafficking and other serious offences. digesting food, skin renewing itself, nails Given the frailties of human nature, Australian growing, tissues forming – all toiling away in nationals are likely to commit these crimes – in solemn foolery. His nails would still be growing particular the carriage of commercial quantities when he stood on the drop, when he was of illegal drugs – and to be called to account for falling through the air with a second to live. them. His eyes saw the yellow gravel and the grey walls, and his brain still remembered, foresaw, Quite apart from Australia’s specific reasoned – reasoned even about puddles. He responsibility in the case of Australians facing and we were a party of men walking together, the death penalty, however, we should also be seeing, hearing, feeling, understanding the same active on the question of universal abolition, world; and in two minutes, with a sudden snap, for reasons of both values and interests. one of us would be gone – one mind less, one world less.’8 State-sanctioned killing clearly engages Australian values. Opponents of capital Australian public opinion is divided on the punishment make a variety of persuasive merits of capital punishment. Poll results vary arguments: that it offends human dignity; that depending on the question asked and the it brutalises the societies which employ it; that salience of the issue at the time of polling.
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