Submission to the Joint Committee on Treaties: Agreement between Australia and Japan concerning the Facilitation of Reciprocal Access and Cooperation between the Australian Defence Force and the Self-Defense Forces of Japan

We write to express our deep concern about a conflict between the Australian government’s principled position against the death penalty1 and the Agreement between Australia and Japan concerning the Facilitation of Reciprocal Access and Cooperation between the Australian Defence Force and the Self-Defense Forces of Japan (‘the Agreement’).

We ask the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties to advise the Australian government to enter the Agreement into force only if there is a clear blanket assurance that members of the Australian Defence Force will not face the death penalty in Japan, and if Australia’s principled position against the death penalty is reinforced in the Agreement.