Marise Payne (NSW, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I thank Senator Abetz for that supplementary question. Abolition is a gradual process, and our diplomatic network has been consistent and diligent in advocating our position. As part of our public diplomacy agenda, many of our missions marked World Day Against the Death Penalty last week. As a member of the UN Human Rights Council for the first time this year, we were advocating abolition in a constructive, pragmatic manner that respects both the cultural and the social contexts of all retentionist states around the world, especially in our own region, the Indo-Pacific. Our diplomatic network will create clear and articulated plans for engaging with all non-abolitionist states. For some nations, complete abolition of the death penalty is just within reach. For others, the next step might be to seek a reduction in its application or perhaps to ensure that, where it is applied, it is actually applied humanely. We recognise that this journey is a difficult one, but all steps towards abolition, large or small, take us into a more civil world. (Time expired)