Austria urged the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to halt the inhumane practice of capital punishment. During the discussions of agenda item four of the fifty-fifth session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva on March 20, 2024, Austria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Desirée Schweitzer, reaffirmed her country's commitment to abolishing the death penalty worldwide.
Schweitzer called on Saudi Arabia and countries that still apply the death penalty to join the 112 countries that have abolished the implementation of this punishment.
According to the tracking of the European Saudi Organization for Human Rights, Saudi Arabia has carried out 41 death sentences since the beginning of 2024, while the lives of at least 69 individuals, including 9 minors, are threatened with execution.