United Nations Association of Australia
Annual United Nations Day Dinner, 23 October 2008
Thank you, Professor John Langmore, President of the United Nations Association of Australia for that introduction and thank you for giving me the opportunity to speak to you at this year's United Nations Day Dinner.
The United Nations Association of Australia plays a very valuable role in promoting Australia and Australians' engagement with the United Nations.
I particularly applaud your efforts to inform public debate about how Australia's interests are served through our engagement with and support for the United Nations.
Our engagement and support have strong historical roots. In fact this hotel's most famous resident, Ben Chifley, was responsible for one of our earliest demonstrations of support for a then fledgling United Nations.
In 1947 Chifley wrote to his British counterpart informing him of Australia's determination to utilise the Security Council to address the conflict between the Netherlands and the Indonesian Republic.
He did this regardless of the misgivings of the United Kingdom and United States. He did it because Australia saw in the United Nations a body capable of facilitating mediation and negotiation between states to prevent the sort of conflict that had so recently engulfed the world.
Prior to Chifley, it was Foreign Minister Evatt who led Australia's delegation to the founding meeting in San Francisco in 1945.
Evatt was central to the development of the United Nations and a remarkable advocate for the interests of small countries and middle powers.
He brought to those early discussions a vision of an international body that would protect human rights, and advance global economic and social development.
The member states' pledge to pursue these goals within the UN became known in San Francisco as "the Australian pledge" . It now forms article 56 of the United Nations Charter.
Evatt's vision is more important today than it has ever been. The need for effective, global responses to the challenges we face is more urgent and necessary than ever before.
Your members know full well that the world body today is focused on a range of important challenges facing the global community. These include climate change, food and energy security, the Millennium Development Goals, peacekeeping, and non-proliferation and disarmament.
I visited New York last month to attend the opening of the 63rd General Assembly and met with UN officials and many of my Foreign Ministerial counterparts.
I took these important opportunities to outline Australia's renewed commitment to work with the global community and our policy of greater engagement with the United Nations.
Tonight, on the eve of United Nations Day, I will detail why it is imperative that Australia demonstrate its good international citizenship by contributing to global responses and how we are reinvigorating our engagement with the United Nations to achieve this.
Australia in a new century
Australia's position in the world at the start of a new century, which also marks a new era of Asia-Pacific influence, demands that we renew our multilateral engagement.
Australia's role must be to inform, support and promote cooperative responses to the global opportunities and challenges of our day.
Although we are only the 50th or so largest country in terms of population, we are a regional leader with a long history of active engagement in global affairs.
We stand among the top 15 largest economies, among the top 20 countries measured in income by capita and among the top dozen in military or peacekeeping spending.
That engagement reflects the importance of regional and multilateral institutions for a nation like Australia.
We benefit immensely from a global and regional order based on principles, norms and rules which regulate relations between nation states. Working to strengthen the mechanisms of that international order helps underpin Australia's prosperity and security.
If we fail to utilise these mechanisms and work within the international order, we will find our capacity to protect and enhance our national interest reducing, and our security and wellbeing declining.
The Government's foreign policy approach
Our foreign policy approach is guided by our determination to make a difference as a good international citizen.
It is an approach both shaped by and reflecting our democratic values, our respect for the rule of law, domestic and international, our tolerance and our deep-seated belief in a fair go for others.
It is also an approach which we believe can only be pursued successfully by reinvigorating Australia's engagement with the United Nations and other multilateral organisations.
We do not accept that this reinvigoration must come at the expense of maintaining bilateral relations, or vice versa. This is a false dichotomy.
These are distinct but not mutually exclusive tools: in many cases they are necessarily complementary.
Some issues, however, are global by nature and require nation states to form collective responses.
Foremost among these global challenges is climate change.
We believe that Australia can only address climate change in concert with the international community. There is equal futility in not acting, or in acting alone.
Our first act as a Government was the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol. Since then, Australia has played, and will continue to play, a leading and constructive role in international climate change negotiations.
The challenge of nuclear proliferation is another issue which must be addressed through effective multilateral action.
Nuclear weapons still pose a threat to humanity almost 40 years after the NPT was signed. There remains a need for real progress towards the NPT's objective of a world free of nuclear weapons.
That's why Australia has established, with Japan, an International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament, co-chaired by Gareth Evans and Ms Yoriko Kawaguchi, a former Japanese Foreign Minister.
The Prime Minister attended the Commission's first meeting, which was held in Sydney this week.
By establishing the Commission we aim to reinvigorate the global effort against the proliferation of nuclear weapons and seek a recommitment to the ultimate goal of a nuclear weapon-free world.
The Commission will seek to shape a global consensus in the lead up to the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference and beyond.
In pursuing this, we are very encouraged by the reaction we have received to date from both nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states.
We will also continue to work within the United Nations towards other non-proliferation goals. I chaired a meeting at the UN in New York last month of Member States of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty (CTBT).
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and others spoke in strong support for the Treaty, which we hope to bring into force both through advocacy within and outside the UN system.
Australia and the United Nations
The activities of the United Nations Association of Australia build on a long and proud history of Australian involvement with the United Nations, a history which stretches back to Foreign Minister Evatt's remarkable contribution to its establishment as World War II drew to a close.
Evatt's vision of countries pursuing human rights, economic and social development goals through the UN is more important today than it has ever been. The need for effective, global responses to the challenges we face is more urgent and necessary than ever before.
The UN has a critical role to play in the global struggle for a peaceful, secure world free from poverty, disease and famine.
For these reasons the Australian Government will work to ensure that the UN and its agencies fulfill their potential as agents for economic and social reform, for peace and as a protector of human rights.
And as we do this, the UN will necessarily occupy a vital place in the way we pursue our national and global interests.
Peacekeeping
From its early years, Australia has been heavily involved in the practical work of the United Nations in bringing peace and security to nations riven by conflict.
Since the very first peacekeeping operation authorised by the United Nations Security Council in 1948, United Nations peacekeeping operations have saved lives, helped communities, helped societies and helped rebuild nations.
Australia has a long and very proud history of supporting United Nations peacekeeping operations.
In fact, if we take into account the 1947 United Nations Consular Commission to Indonesia, during which Australia - then a member of the United Nations Security Council - helped monitor observance of the ceasefire between Dutch and Indonesian forces, it can be argued that we were the first nation state to have personnel on the ground in any modern peacekeeping operation. Indeed, in recognition of this, Australia celebrated 60 years of Australian peacekeeping efforts in 2007.
Since 1948, Australia has made contributions to United Nations and regional peacekeeping operations in Africa, Europe, Central America, the Middle East and the Asia-Pacific region. More than 30,000 Australians have served around the world as peacekeepers.
As a considerable and significant nation, and as a good international citizen, we continue the noble tradition of peacekeeping to this day.
Our participation in peacekeeping missions outside our immediate region has helped to demonstrate our commitment to international peace, security and stability and to strengthen our credentials as a responsible member of the international community.
Security Council
The Security Council is at the heart of international responses to issues of peace and security. Australia has served on the Council in the past and Australia should do so again.
A practical example of Security Council action in which Australia played a leading role relates to the independence of one of our nearest neighbours, Indonesia.
Australia recognised the forces sweeping away colonialism after World War II. We were bold enough to act through the Security Council to support the emerging Indonesian Republic and we did this against the express wishes of the United States, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
I have already mentioned Ben Chifley's 1947 correspondence with the post-war British Prime Minister Clement Attlee informing him of Australia's determination to act through the United Nations.
Two days after he wrote that letter, Chifley's strong support for United Nations involvement saw Australia, as a member of the Security Council, join with a newly independent India to bring the conflict between the Indonesian Republic and the Netherlands before the Council.
Indonesia then nominated Australia to represent its interests on the 1947 Committee of Good Offices established by the Security Council. Australia did that diligently and robustly.
Just as Australia has served on the UN Security Council in the forties, Australia still has a role to play today.
That is why we have decided to seek election to the United Nations Security Council for the 2013-14 term.
Australia played a leading role in drafting those articles of the UN Charter that deal with the Security Council's work and its relationship to other central organs of the UN, such as the General Assembly.
We have a record of long and active engagement with the Security Council and our wider contribution to the United Nations places us in good stead to serve again.
We are determined to help address serious global challenges including conflict prevention, terrorism and the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
Australia has much to contribute to the Security Council. We bring unique perspectives, creativity, energy and a practical problem-solving ethos. We also bring a wealth of experience in peace-keeping, conflict prevention and peace-building.
It is therefore appropriate that we seek a seat at the table of the pre-eminent international body charged with confronting many of today's challenges.
Other UN bodies
Our commitment to renewed engagement with the United Nations is not, of course, limited to the Security Council.
The Government has, for example, also worked to strengthen our cooperation with, and support for, the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.
I am pleased that High Commissioner Guterres has accepted our invitation for an official visit to Australia early next year. I look forward to furthering our engagement and reinforce Australia's commitment to improving the lives of refugees.
We are improving cooperation with the UNHCR to ensure our increased humanitarian settlement program, one of the three largest in the world, is used to maximum effect in the international system of refugee protection.
We have also taken wide-ranging measures to reform Australia's immigration detention system, reforms welcomed by the UNHCR as "a very positive step".
As well, the Government increased funding for the UNHCR in the 2008-09 budget to $9.9 million, and we will make additional contributions through AusAID's International Refugee Fund and the Department of Immigration and Citizenship's Displaced Persons Program.
UN Reform
We recognise that some UN bodies need to improve their performance.
But it is counterproductive and wrong simply to criticise the United Nations from the sidelines.
There is no point just standing outside throwing rocks at the building. Instead, we need to be engaged in working hard to build the UN's capability, responsiveness and creativity from within.
Australia's focus in supporting UN reform is on improving the effectiveness, efficiency and accountability of UN operations.
In this context we welcome and support Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's structural reform efforts, including with the Department of Peacekeeping Operations and the Department of Political Affairs.
We also want reform to the Security Council, whose working methods need to improve and whose membership should expand to reflect the modern world.
Again I reaffirm Australia's support for India and Japan for their bids to become permanent members of an expanded Security Council.
A Good International Citizen
I mentioned that a key aspect of the Government's recommitment to multilateralism is our strong wish to see Australia speak and act on the world stage as a good international citizen.
As a good international citizen we are determined to make better use of our considerable prosperity to help those less fortunate than ourselves.
Guided by our commitment to the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals, we have pledged to increase our official development assistance from 0.3 to 0.5 per cent of gross national income (GNI) by 2015.
This reverses a trend which for most of the last decade saw Australia's commitment to official development assistance going backwards.
We have also committed $200 million over four years under the "UN Partnership for the MDGs" budget measure. Through this initiative, Australia will work closely in partnership with key UN agencies leading international efforts to achieve the goals.
Protection of human rights
Another area essential to good international citizenship is the protection of human rights.
The Rudd Government has been active both domestically and internationally to reclaim Australia's reputation as a leader in the international protection of human rights.
The Prime Minister's Apology to Indigenous Australians in February was a defining moment in Australia's history and was recognised as a symbolic and momentous step forward by the international community.
The Government has sent a clear message to the world that Australia is serious about both symbolic and practical steps towards reconciliation, and committed to addressing Indigenous disadvantage.
The Apology was warmly greeted by the international community, including by the then High Commissioner for Human Rights, Louise Arbour.
In this 60th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, the Government is also taking practical steps to strengthen Australia's engagement with the international human rights system.
We have extended a standing invitation to United Nations human rights experts to visit Australia.
In July, Australia became the 30th country to ratify the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
The Government has also commenced the process towards becoming a party to the Convention's Optional Protocol.
This year marks the 25th anniversary of Australia's ratification of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
The Government is well-advanced with its consideration of becoming a party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on ending all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), with a National Interest Analysis tabled in Parliament in August this year.
Being a party to the Protocol will enable Australian women to bring complaints under CEDAW to the United Nations where domestic remedies have been exhausted.
The Government has also begun consultations with State and Territory counterparts and NGOs on Australia becoming a party to the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture.
The Optional Protocol establishes a system of United Nations visits to places of detention and requires states to establish a domestic mechanism to monitor detention.
In New York last month I also attended a Ministerial meeting on child soldiers and announced Australia's endorsement of the Paris Principles and Commitments. These are aimed at addressing the issue of children affected by armed conflict.
I announced that Australia will allocate $200,000 to support UNICEF's activities aimed at preventing and responding to unlawful child recruitment and the use of children by armed forces and armed groups.
Responsibility to Protect
An area closely related to our strengthened human rights commitment is the emerging principle of the "Responsibility to Protect" - or "R2P".
The R2P principle was endorsed by world leaders at the 2005 United Nations World Summit and was reaffirmed in 2006 by the Security Council. It holds that States are responsible for the protection of their own civilians from heinous mass crimes such as genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
The principle also requires the international community to use diplomatic, humanitarian and other peaceful means to help protect populations; and to take collective action, authorised by the UN Security Council, if other means fail.
Australia is committed to making the R2P principle central to international efforts on conflict prevention and resolution.
We will support the development of this principle through project and research work funded through a $2 million Responsibility to Protect Fund.
The fund will be available on a competitive basis to institutions, NGOs and individuals in Australia, for projects or research which will materially contribute to making R2P a reliable factor in international crisis handling.
Financial security
The world is currently facing the impact of a global financial crisis, the impact of which is being felt here in Australia and around the world.
Successful global restructuring and stabilisation of financial markets by governments around the world is critical to containing the adverse economic fallout on developed and developing countries.
That's why it's so important that Australia has been invited to attend a summit of leaders of the G-20 on 15 November.
The summit will bring together leaders of the United States, Japan, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Canada, the European Union, China, Brazil, India, Russia, South Korea and other major economies.
It will also be attended by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
It is important that this meeting address not only the immediate financial crisis, but also the reform of international financial institutions.
In his speech to the United Nations General Assembly last month, the Prime Minister outlined a number of reforms that Australia believes are necessary to ensure that a crisis of this kind cannot occur again.
Conclusion
By reinvigorating Australia's engagement with the United Nations, Australia is acting in its own long term national interest.
Only by cooperating with other States in multilateral frameworks can we address the pressing challenges that span borders and threaten us all.
Working within these systems can be difficult. The United Nations Charter, for example, came into force 63 years ago when many of the challenges we face today were simply not envisaged.
But we need to take the opportunities available to us in international affairs. By working with other nations, globally, regionally, and bilaterally, and by taking much greater advantage of international institutions, we can make a positive contribution to international security and to increasing the wealth and prosperity of nations.
This Government is committed to helping global institutions and systems rise to new challenges. We believe this to be the only realistic option, and we believe that this work will place Australia on a new international footing, engaging with the United Nations.
Thank you.