AUSTRALIA. UN OFFICIAL URGES MORE ACTION ON DEATH PENALTY

UN official Philip Alston criticised the Australian Federal Government over what he said was its failure to stop the death penalty being imposed against Australians overseas. Alston made the comment as Indonesian prosecutors recommended that at least one of the so-called Bali nine be executed if found guilty of allegedly planning and funding a heroin trafficking operation. Alston had told ABC Radio's AM program that the Australian Government needed to do more on the death penalty issue. 
"There are going to be many more Australians potentially on death row in various Asian countries and to pretend that's not the case, is burying your head in the sand," he said.
"So the question now is: what's the Government going to do?"
Alston said Australia acted too late to spare the life of Melbourne man Van Nguyen executed on drug charges in Singapore in December 2005 and it was now time to do more to ensure that one of the so-called Bali nine, if convicted, did not face execution.
Alston said that Australia should continue to help countries which have the death penalty fight crime but should do so on the condition that no Australian is sentenced to death. "It's a matter of saying we have a strong opposition in Australia to the death penalty and we would condition our cooperation on your not applying the death penalty when you are operating on the basis of information or assistance provided by us," he said.