AUSTRALIA TO SEEK UN RESOLUTION AGAINST EXECUTIONS

Australia will press for an international moratorium on capital punishment following the execution of the Bali bombers. Foreign Minister Stephen Smith said he had nothing but contempt for the bombers, but Australia did not support the death penalty.
"Australia of course for a long period of time has generally opposed capital punishment," he said. "We urge countries who continue to apply capital punishment not to do so."
Mr Smith said in the near future Australia would co-sponsor a resolution in the United Nations General Assembly calling for a moratorium on capital punishment. He said there was a bipartisan opposition to capital punishment in Australia, at the state and federal levels.