Capital Punishment Justice Project

11/05/2026

Tomorrow, Singapore faces its fourth Universal Periodic Review at the United Nations. CPJP, along with eight co-signing organisations, calls on member states to urge Singapore to end its use of the death penalty.

Since Singapore's last UPR in 2021, 51 people have been executed – 48 of them for drug-related offences, in clear violation of international human rights law. Singapore remains one of only a handful of countries in the world that continues to execute people for drug offences, alongside China, Iran, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.

We stand with Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), Australian Injecting & Illicit Drug Users League - AIVL, ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty), Harm Reduction International, Julian Wagner Memorial Fund Inc., The Advocates for Human Rights, the Australian Civil Society Committee on UN Drug Policy, and World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in urging member states to push Singapore to:
🔴 Impose an immediate moratorium on ex*****ons with a view to full abolition
🔴 End the death penalty for drug-related offences
🔴 Abolish the mandatory death penalty
🔴 Stop using laws and administrative processes to silence civil society organisations and human rights defenders.

Read the full joint statement at the link below.

Ahead of Singapore’s fourth Universal Periodic Review (UPR) on 12 May 2026, we call on member states to urge Singapore to end its use of the death penalty.

30/04/2026

Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were executed 11 years ago, but their legacy lives on through our continued fight for a world without the death penalty.

Indonesia is moving closer to becoming a de facto abolitionist state. Here in Australia, our government’s bipartisan commitment to abolition – opposing the death penalty in all circumstances for all people – reflects the global leadership this issue demands. Yet the work to end capital punishment worldwide remains urgent.

We honour Andrew and Myuran's memory by continuing to fight for mercy and justice, and carrying forward their belief that change is always possible.

Heart artwork by Georgia-Grace Buckingham.

29/04/2026

On 29 April 2015, eight men faced the firing squad in Indonesia, including Australians Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran.

All eight men courageously chose to stand and face their ex*****oners without blindfolds, and sang together in their final moments.

Miraculously, Mary Jane Veloso, who was intended to be executed alongside the men, was given a last-minute reprieve. Her story is a reminder of why we never stop fighting for those on death row.

Andrew and Myuran's legacy of hope and forgiveness continues to drive our fight for a world without the death penalty.

Candle artwork by Demian Carey Gibbins

29/04/2026

⏰ Starting soon! 12pm (AEST)

Last chance to register for the live stream of Women and the War on Drugs: Abolishing the Death Penalty and Centering Resistance to Gendered Drug Policy.

💻 Register now: https://bit.ly/4cHcGr0

At the Women Deliver conference? Join us in person in Room 219 on Level 2.

28/04/2026

Eleven years ago today, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran were less than 24 hours from ex*****on. Over the previous decade, the two men had transformed their lives on death row, while advocating for mercy.

Despite thousands calling for clemency, including pleas by prominent Australian politicians, and evidence of their genuine rehabilitation, Indonesia rejected the chance to show mercy.

The men and their families were forced to say final goodbyes, demonstrating that the death penalty not only punishes those convicted of crime, but also innocent family members and friends.

We remember Andrew and Myuran's courage in the face of such cruelty, as we continue the fight to end the death penalty in all circumstances.

24/04/2026

On 25 April 2015, Andrew Chan and Myuran Sukumaran received notice that Indonesia planned to execute them within days.

In the hours that followed, frantic, final pleas for clemency came from their families, friends, lawyers, and thousands of supporters around the world.

11 years on, we remember two Australians who, facing death, chose to better themselves and to help those around them – and in doing so, left a legacy that endures.

23/04/2026

🔔 UPDATE: The opening address will be delivered by the Rt Hon Helen Clark, Commissioner of the International Commission Against the Death Penalty and Chair of the Global Commission on Drug Policy.

Punitive drug policy has gendered impacts. And the death penalty is the most extreme and irreversible consequence of such approaches.

Join CPJP's Vice-Chair Sara Kowal and an incredible panel of speakers at the Women Deliver conference next week for a hybrid event exploring women's lived experience and collective resistance in the face of punitive drug policy, and centering the abolition of the death penalty as an urgent human rights imperative.

📅 Wednesday 29 April 2026
🕛 Melbourne: 12:00-1:30 PM AEST
📍 Room 219, Level 2, Melbourne Convention Centre
💻 Or join us online! Register for the live stream: https://bit.ly/4cHcGr0

22/04/2026

Following the ex*****on of Omar bin Yacob Bamadhaj in Singapore last week for trafficking just over 1kg of cannabis, UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk has expressed alarm at the spike in ex*****ons for drug-related offences in Singapore, and at the broader global rise in the proportion of such ex*****ons in recent years.

“At every level, the taking of this man’s life is both cruel and inhuman,” Türk said. “Quite simply, the death penalty is fundamentally incompatible with human dignity and the right to life.”

The global, and regional, momentum is moving away from capital punishment. Türk also noted that “Singapore is one of only a handful of countries currently imposing the death penalty for drug-related offences not involving intentional killing.”

GENEVA – UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk today expressed alarm at the continuing spike in ex*****ons for drug-related offences in Singapore, saying the practice is at odds with international human rights law. He called for an immediate moratorium on the use of the death penalty.

22/04/2026

Saudi Arabia has surpassed 2,000 ex*****ons in just over 10 years.

Despite official statements promoting adherence to international human rights law, this unprecedented number includes deeply troubling patterns. Those executed include people who committed crimes as children, a disproportionate number of foreign nationals and other vulnerable groups, and people convicted for drug-related offences or for exercising fundamental rights.

CPJP joins 37 other international human rights organisations in a statement led by the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights. Together, we call for an immediate halt to ex*****ons in Saudi Arabia, and for a comprehensive review of all cases in line with international human rights law and Saudi Arabia's international obligations.

"The undersigned human rights organisations stress that the death penalty in Saudi Arabia has become a widely and systematically used tool, in clear violation of international obligations and fundamental human rights standards."

CPJP joins 37 international human rights organisations in calling for an immediate halt to ex*****ons in Saudi Arabia.

20/04/2026

Next Wednesday 29 April, 12-1:30pm (AEDT), join us for "Women and the War on Drugs: Abolishing the death penalty and centering resistance to gendered drug policy". Register now for the live stream: https://bit.ly/4cHcGr0

Please register for this dynamic hybrid event on gendered drug policy. All those who register will automatically receive the event recording.

To register for the live stream, please visit: https://bit.ly/4cHcGr0

See you there!
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17/04/2026

CPJP joins nine other Maldivian and international human rights organisations in calling on the Maldives government to withdraw a proposed bill that would end the country's longstanding moratorium on the death penalty.

The authorities should also repeal recent amendments to the Drugs Act of 2011 that allow capital punishment for drug-related offences and move to fully abolish the death penalty.

CPJP joins nine other Maldivian and international human rights organisations in calling on the Maldives to withdraw a new bill that would end the country's longstanding moratorium on ex*****ons.