The Uniting Church considers capital punishment to be a human rights issue, in line with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights’ assertion that each person is entitled to the right to life, and to freedom from “cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”.

This concern for human rights is based in a strong theological belief that human beings are made in the image of God, and that as such each human being is inherently precious and must be treated with dignity. The 2006 Uniting Church in Australia Statement Dignity in Humanity: Recognising Christ in Every Person offers an opposition to capital punishment grounded in a strong concern for human rights, in line with the broad human rights focus of the broader statement.