Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Manager of Government Business in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I have long argued in this chamber that complex matters of international relations should not be considered in the Senate by means of formal motions. The Australian government’s policy against the death penalty is clear and consistent. Australia acceded to the Second Optional Protocol of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights on 2 October 1990. In keeping with the government’s policy of encouraging universal ratification of the second optional protocol, we call on all retentionist states to abolish the death penalty. With regard to human rights in Iran, I draw the Senate’s attention to a statement by the Minister for Foreign Affairs in parliament on 16 June 2009 following election protests in Iran. He stated that the government was ‘gravely concerned’ about the very serious breaches of human rights we have seen.

I note with regret the reports this morning that five Iranian protesters have been sentenced to death. The Australian government’s position on human rights in Iran was again set out by Australia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, Gary Quinlan, in New York on 28 October. Ambassador Quinlan stated:

We share longstanding concerns about Iran’s fulfilment of its human rights obligations … We are concerned by the continued detention of so-called opponents of the regime, executions of juvenile offenders and discrimination against minorities such as the Baha’is. Australia urges Iran to ensure transparency in its judicial system, and to investigate fully reports of torture, rape and death in detention.