Speech

Los Angeles, 19 January 2005

Reforming the United Nations and Building Cooperation Towards Peace and Security

A Speech to the Los Angeles World Affairs Council

Introduction

Thank you Mr Curtis Mack, President of the Los Angeles World Affairs Council World Affairs Council members, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.

It is a great pleasure to be here again - exactly one year to the day since I last addressed this august forum. It is also a great pleasure to be back in the United States.

The past year has been one of great achievement and joint endeavour in the bilateral relationship - some detail of which I shall return to later.

Today, Australians, Americans and nations world-wide remain focused on responding to the humanitarian disaster arising from the earthquake and tsunamis which occurred at last year's close.

We can scarcely believe the staggering numbers of innocent victims from so many nations in the region and beyond. Or that so many more have been displaced, losing loved ones and their livelihoods. This is so even when one has seen the devastation first hand, as I did when I visited the region to offer Australia's support and assistance two weeks ago. And your own Secretary of State Colin Powell had a similar response when he also visited recently, saying he had never seen anything like it in all his experience of natural disasters.

The scale of the devastation has prompted a show of generosity and support which has been as impressive as it has been necessary. The scale has also dictated that assistance and cooperation of nations and the international community will be needed in many of the affected areas for years to come.

The events of 26 December and the subsequent humanitarian crises have also highlighted the vital importance of nations, regions and the international community continuing all efforts to find the most effective ways to build security and greater prosperity….…whether in the face of natural or man-made threats and crises.

Today I would like to look at an issue which directly relates to how nations and the international community are able to safeguard and restore peace and prosperity……an issue which has been a topic of much discussion, work and diplomacy over the past year - namely the reform of the United Nations.

In using the phrase 'reform of the United Nations' I should stress that it is shorthand for efforts to fundamentally change our system of global governance…… rather than simply a reference to the laudable but much more modest goal of promoting a more efficient UN Secretariat through management reform.

Australia Foreign Policy and the Role of the United Nations

The fundamental focus of Australia's foreign policy is on achieving outcomes that enhance our security and prosperity. Thus the Government's foreign policy has been overwhelmingly pragmatic, utilising variously bilateral, regional and multilateral approaches to achieve the outcomes that we have sought.

In Australia, we recognise that a rules-based international system has delivered a great deal in the way of stability and security across Australia's foreign policy interests. Indeed, I come to foreign policy with an abiding belief in the need for a rules-based system which is flexible enough to find a balance between respect for sovereignty and the reinforcement of human rights, democracy and freedom.

Australia, the United States and many others rightly recognise that the international legal system - with the body of the United Nations at its core - retains a unique and important role in international efforts to address contemporary threats.

Similarly, the United States - a country whose support and leadership remains critical to the United Nations - and Australia also wish to see a United Nations system that is effective and efficient, responsive and relevant in the face of contemporary threats……able to give optimal assistance to the needy and vulnerable, as well as ensuring that responsible nation states are supported as they endeavour to build peace and security.

From Australia's point of view, the magnitude and complexity of the challenges to hand also necessitate action by nations and regions……with the UN system not expected to carry full responsibility for such endeavours - whether in its current form or as a reformed and revitalised entity in the future. And particularly where we - nations individually and regions collectively - may have the resources, capacity and willingness to contribute.

Indeed, it may be the case that nations and regions are uniquely placed to respond to situations……or more appropriate that nations and regions should take the lead in situations. This point of view has been clearly endorsed by the report of the High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, to which I will turn shortly…… one of the central themes of which is the urgent need for greater interaction between the UN system and effective regional activities.

From my own experience as Foreign Minister, I can say that acting with partners in the region and globally to build peace and security, in line with the international system and its laws, has shown itself to be a positive and successful strategy.

A very current example is the partnership we have established with Indonesia to assist with the reconstruction and rehabilitation of Aceh province following the December tsunamis. Australia is contributing one billion (Australian) dollars to the partnership - our largest-ever single aid initiative.

Through the partnership, Australia and Indonesia will work closely to plan and implement the programs to rebuild and recover communities in Aceh. Australia and Indonesia agree that the partnership provides the best means for us to cooperate and achieve results in response to the disaster.

In the Pacific, Australia has been working closely with regional neighbours through the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands - or RAMSI, as we know it - to help that nation back from the brink of failure, and restore stability and promote good governance and economic development. In a very real sense this was an example of the region acting collectively to address a regional problem - of neighbours extending a helping hand.

In 1999, Australia helped quickly mobilise and then command an international force to restore order in East Timor ahead of a UN peacekeeping operation - demonstrating how our national capabilities and willingness to act in concert with other like-minded nations have helped bring security and stability to our region.

Australia's success in building regional cooperation on counter-terrorism is another example of how the resourcefulness and flexibility of nations is crucial in the contemporary security environment.

On countering WMD proliferation, collective action by nations is also proving successful and is complementing efforts through major multilateral bodies like the International Atomic Energy Agency……with the Proliferation Security Initiative - an endeavour closely involving both our countries - actively working to impede illicit and illegal movement and transfer of WMD material and technologies.

These are just a few important examples, illustrating the critical role responsible and cooperative action by nations and regions can play not only in the promotion of peace and security in their own right……but also in bolstering the international system.

The Agenda for United Nations Reform and the High Level Panel Report

While these examples illustrate effective ways to promote regional and global peace and security, we recognise that it is also crucial to bring urgent and lasting reform to the United Nations. The nations of the world face challenges to international security and prosperity that are very different to those which existed at the birth of the United Nations in San Francisco nearly sixty years ago.

Today, the menace of terrorism and the dangers of proliferation of WMD cast their shadow across the globe…… threatening not only our security, but the development gains and future prosperity of nations. And it is to this new environment - this new reality - to which we must all adjust.

The United Nations is no exception. It is a vital institution that does great humanitarian work …… but there is an urgent, practical, need to strengthen its capacity to deal effectively and relevantly with the problems we now face …… or run the risk that the institution will slide into irrelevance …… to the detriment of all nations and peoples.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan recognised this in 2003 when he said "we have come to a fork in the road … a moment no less decisive than 1945 itself, when the UN was first founded".

And the Secretary-General responded by announcing the establishment of a High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change……drawing experts and practitioners together from around the world , including former Australian Foreign Minister Gareth Evans,……with a mandate to study and make recommendations on the major issues facing the United Nations and it member states.

Australia has welcomed from the outset the High-Level panel process, and provided financial and other support …… because we judge the process represents the best prospect for urgently repositioning the UN system to meet contemporary challenges …… and are concerned about the long-term implications for the global system if this reform opportunity is lost.

Just a few weeks ago, the Panel released its report. And, I am pleased to be able to say that our hopes for an ambitious and bold report have been largely met. Of course, this is not to say that we agree with all the elements of the report. But we do think it provides a firm, practical and sensible basis for further planning, discussion and action. The Panel's report itself contains 101 recommendations for what we in Australia term institutional and doctrinal reforms.

Let me turn now to some of the specific recommendations made by the Panel……and our initial thinking on how they may help address the challenges facing the international community today - beginning with some key institutional issues.

Successive Australian governments have long advocated expanding the permanent membership of the Security Council - without the extension of the veto - through the addition of Japan, India, Brazil, an African country and possibly Indonesia.

As a vital multilateral institution, the Security Council needs to remain representative - and such changes would result in a Security Council more compatible with the geopolitical realities of the present. We therefore welcome the Panel's efforts to tackle this difficult issue. But while possible models have been proposed, we recognise that finding a final solution acceptable to all will not be easy.

Certainly, it will be important that there be criteria for Security Council membership, especially for any permanent new seats that may be created. And the Panel's focus on the contributions that aspirants may have made to the UN financially, militarily and diplomatically is, I believe, a sound basis for taking this aspect of reform forward.

Australia has also long argued that the UN electoral system needs to be updated to reflect changes in the international system. In particular, the old divide between East and West Europe should be adapted to reflect the new converging European reality.

The Panel's proposals for a distribution of Council seats between four new major regional electoral groups - with Australia to join the Asia Pacific group - is a good start and one that we strongly support.

As I outlined earlier in my presentation, Australia has been closely involved over recent years in activities designed to help states build peace and prosperity.

We are also well aware of the actual and potential vulnerabilities to security and stability posed by weak and failing states - whether in terms of vulnerability to transnational crimes, including terrorism, or the problems of poor governance and corruption. As such, I am particularly interested in the Panel's bold proposal to establish a Peacebuilding Commission - a commission that would assist countries under stress and at risk of sliding towards failure, as well as those emerging from conflict.

While work needs to be done to flesh out the detail of this substantial institutional reform, the concept appears to merit serious consideration. Should this idea gain currency, I believe that there would be much that Australia could contribute.

Promotion of and respect for human rights also form an important part of the Panel's report.

As recent events such as the humanitarian disaster in Darfur or the situation in Zimbabwe have underlined, respect for human rights remains a precondition for the establishment of peace and security.

From the vantage point of Australia's just concluded Presidency of the Commission on Human Rights, I believe it is appropriate to look at how the Commission - as the premier multilateral human rights institution - can better fulfil the purposes for which it was created.

The Panel's recommendation that the Commission's membership be universalised could be one way of achieving this. However, such a change would need to be part of a wider reform process so as to avoid duplication within the UN human rights machinery.

I would like to now look at some of what we have termed the doctrinal recommendations proposed by the Panel.

Humanitarian disasters in Somalia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Kosovo and, more recently, Darfur have underlined the urgent need for the international community to develop a better framework for responding to man-made humanitarian crises. The Panel makes a welcome contribution to the international dialogue on the 'Responsibility to Protect' concept of humanitarian intervention which has been developing in recent years.

This concept has at its core the idea that the international community has a collective responsibility to protect civilian populations in the event of humanitarian crises which national governments have been powerless or unwilling to prevent.

I believe that the Panel is correct in assessing that the future legitimacy and credibility of the Security Council will depend in large measure on the Council's ability to take effective and timely action regarding large-scale man-made humanitarian crises.

I am also pleased that the Panel report clearly recognises the threat to international peace and security posed by the spread of weapons of mass destruction. As such, we support the Panel's conclusion that the Security Council should play a more active and resolute role in promoting WMD non-proliferation, including by taking action where there is serious concern over non-compliance.

If the Council's membership is to expand, it is essential that all new permanent members be fully committed to more resolute action by the Council to act against proliferation threats. I also endorse the Panel's recommendation that the UN should promote a comprehensive strategy for combating transnational terrorism. This is consistent with Australia's approach, set out in the Government's recent White Paper on transnational terrorism.

Such a strategy should, as noted by the Panel, look at the development of better instruments for global counter-terrorism cooperation……including completion of negotiation of an effective and comprehensive convention on terrorism……and the implementation of existing counter-terrorism standardsby states.

At the same time - and as Australia knows from its own experience with regional partners - capacity-building and other cooperation at bilateral and regional levels play a critical role in international counter-terrorism effort……delivering practical outcomes reflecting local conditions. As such, I believe that we should also encourage further UN efforts to facilitate and support such activities.

Finally, the Panel should be lauded for tackling one of the most difficult issues of our time: namely, the use of force by states and the role of the Security Council in authorising military action.

The Panel correctly acknowledges that Chapter VII of the UN Charter empowers the Security Council to address the full range of security threats with which States are concerned. But the real challenge remains for the Security Council to face up to its role and responsibility in addressing threats to international peace and security...…essentially, to be more proactive in addressing contemporary threats such terrorism and WMD proliferation - and to take more decisive action earlier.

The report and its key recommendations are welcome. But they are part of an urgent and ongoing project, not ends in themselves. And building and keeping momentum for reform remains crucial.

I am pleased that senior officials have already met this year in Mexico at the second 'Friends of UN Reform' meeting, where discussions were held on the High-Level Panel's report and on ways of taking appropriate recommendations forward.

The 2005 Heads of Government Summit, to be held in September, will be critical to the UN reform process. Development issues will be high on the Summit's agenda. So too will be UN reform issues. The gathering will provide an important forum to carry forward those recommendations in the High-Level Panel's report which are workable and capable of attracting broad support.

It is important that all UN member states give support and cooperation to the reform process - not least because it is important for members of the international community to have a better functioning and more relevant UN system. And in terms of talking to the good citizens of an important UN member state here today, I trust that what I have outlined about the reform process will dispel any notion that this is a theoreticians' debate, esoteric or academic in nature… ….and has underlined that it is - and must remain - a combined effort by experts, practitioners, politicians and the international community to arrive at practical and pragmatic outcomes……outcomes that will help the vulnerable and ensure the responsible can assist as necessary.

Concluding remarks

In conclusion, let me come back to where I began - the Australia-US bilateral relationship.

To my mind, this is a bilateral relationship that embodies many of the qualities that are essential to make the international system work effectively:

• Unbending support for and promotion of freedom and democracy;

• True bonds of partnership and cooperation;

• A relationship of mutual understanding but also respect for differences and capacity to compromise;

• And a genuine willingness to work together to achieve international peace and security - regardless of the complexity of the challenges at hand.

So much of what we are doing together globally, regionally and bilaterally helps to further demonstrate this.

On Iraq, both our nations appreciate the importance of staying the course and helping democracy take root.

The United States remains a key partner for Australia and the Asia-Pacific region in the ongoing campaign against international terrorism……as it does in our efforts to address WMD proliferation concerns.

In early 2004 we finalised the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement, and on the first of January this year the agreement entered into force.

With this forward-looking and dynamic agreement in place our economies and our business people have unprecedented opportunities and conditions to trade, invest and grow together.

Most recently, Australia and the United States have sprung in to action to assist communities devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami - with Australian and US military personnel working side by side in northern Sumatra to deliver urgently needed equipment and goods to devastated areas.

Of course, in the past year both our nations have also held national elections……and I should like to once again congratulate President George Bush on his re-election. Over the President's first term it has been a pleasure and an honour to enjoy excellent cooperation with Secretary of State Colin Powell.

We thank him for his energy and support over a busy and challenging period in foreign policy.

Might I also say that I and my colleagues look forward to working with Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State. I am sure the period ahead will provide many opportunities for our excellent bilateral cooperation and record of shared achievement to continue……not least as we together tackle the complex issues which make up the United Nations reform agenda.

Finally, I thank once again to the World Affairs Council and its members for the opportunity to share some views on an issue of great interest to me professionally and personally - the reform of the United Nations.

ENDS