27-01-2005b - Second informal Plenary exchange on the report of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change - Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

Australian Permanent Mission to the United Nations

New York

Permanent Mission address: 150 East 42 Street, Level 33, New York, New York 10017 - Telephone: 1 212 351 6600 - Fax: 1 212 351 6610

Plenary
27 January, 2005

Second informal Plenary exchange on the report of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change

Statement by H.E. Mr Peter Tesch
Ambassador and Deputy Permanent Representative
Australian Mission to the United Nations

(Check against delivery)

Mr President,

As delegations well know, Australia has welcomed from the outset the High-Level Panel process, and provided financial and other support for it. We have done this because we judge the process represents the best prospect for urgently repositioning the UN system to meet contemporary challenges and because we are concerned about the long-term implications for the global system if we - the member states - fail to seize this opportunity to reform and strengthen the Organisation.

Having had the chance now to look more closely at the report, 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 - indeed, like others, we are still working through many of the details and implications of the proposals. But we do think the report provides a firm, practical and sensible basis for further planning, discussion and action.
I would like briefly to comment on some of the specific recommendations for what might be called institutional and doctrinal reforms.

Mr President,

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, we believe, a sound basis for taking forward this aspect of reform.

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.

Mr President,

Reform of the Security Council is an important subject which often seems to dominate these sorts of discussions. But we must remember that there are many pressing issues before us, and we must not forego the chance to achieve progress in these areas.

In this context, Mr President, we are well aware of the actual and potential vulnerabilities to security and stability posed by fragile states - whether in terms of vulnerability to transnational crime, including terrorism, or to the problems of poor governance and corruption. As such, we are particularly interested in the Panel's bold proposal to establish a Peace-building 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, we believe that there would be much that Australia could contribute.

Mr President,

Promotion of and respect for human rights also forms 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, we 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.

Mr President,

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. We 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.

Mr President,
We are 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 standards by 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 and help deliver practical outcomes reflecting local conditions. As such, we believe that we should also encourage further UN efforts to facilitate and support such activities.

Finally, Mr President,

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 as terrorism and WMD proliferation - and to take more decisive action earlier.

Mr President,

The report and its key recommendations are welcome. But they are part of an urgent and ongoing project, not ends in themselves. As we well know, and as Australia has repeatedly stated, we must make progress on development issues as well if we are to position ourselves to deal effectively with the challenges of our time. Building and keeping momentum for institutional and doctrinal reform remains crucial. We remain committed to working actively with you and other delegations to achieve this.

Thank-you, Mr President.