Matthew Goldberg holds international lecture series

In September and October 2024, DPRU DPhil student Matthew Goldberg held the first two in a series of three international lectures reflecting on the process of universal abolition of the death penalty, collectively titled ‘Expecting an End to the Death Penalty’.

Since 2021, Matthew has been President of the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and often represents the World Coalition before United Nations forums and other regional bodies. He draws upon experience as a criminal barrister and Australian civil society representative to the UN Human Rights Council.

Co-hosted by the DPRU and the World Coalition, the lecture series was arranged to coincide with the UN General Assembly’s 2024 resolution for an international moratorium on the death penalty, in order to imaginatively rearticulate the global vision for abolition.

The arguments made in the lectures seek to counteract the proposition that expectations of international consensus on abolition should be scaled down in the current political climate. Matthew intends for a philosophy of urgency to emerge from the lectures that may be translated into major legal reform.

Matthew’s first lecture, on the theme of ‘idealism and naivety’, was hosted at Université Paris I Panthéon-Sorbonne, introduced by Professor Florence Bellivier. The second, on the theme of ‘hyper-rationality’, was hosted at the Bonavero Centre, University of Oxford, introduced by Professor Kate O’Regan. The third and final lecture in the series is due to be held at Columbia University, New York, in late 2024.