As a freshly minted Foreign
Minister, I am delighted to take part in this general
debate. Only a few weeks ago, Australia held national
elections and chose a new Government. Only nine
days ago, I was sworn in as Australia’s thirty-eighth
Minister for Foreign Affairs. A change of Government
is a significant national decision. It has happened only
seven times in our country since the Second World War.
Australia is an open, liberal democracy. We
recognize our good fortune in having an unbroken
record of peaceful democratic transition stretching
back to 1901. The United Nations offers that same ideal
of peace and order in relations among States. It gives us
a place to resolve our differences and to be heard on the
concerns that matter most.
There is an intrinsic connection between the
security and stability of Governments and economic
development. Good Governments understand that
providing a secure and stable environment for their
citizens is their most fundamental task, but that task
is tied inextricably to the strength of their economy.
Economic growth, development and trade are the key
drivers of national and international prosperity, and a
vital support for global security. That is why the new
Australian Government will put economic diplomacy
at the centre of our foreign policy.
We will promote responsible economic governance
and open trading systems that support export-oriented
economies. We recognize that a strong business sector,
open trading rules and liberal foreign investment policies
can foster economic growth and, with it, opportunities
to achieve prosperity and security. Strong economies
give nations and their people an environment in which
to build their lives — to make choices for the lives they
want to lead. Strong, open economies foster sustainable
growth. We understand that from our experience in
Australia and in our region.
Australia’s economic success and high standards
of living are anchored in reform efforts over many
years. We liberalized our economy and unilaterally
dismantled trade barriers and protectionist policies. In
our own region, as economies have opened, standards of
living have improved. We have witnessed the enormous
growth of the middle class in South-East Asia. Estimates
suggest that approximately 145 million people will be
considered middle-class in 2015, up from 95 million in
2010. In Asia more broadly, we expect a middle class
of over 3 billion people by 2030. Indonesia, currently
the world’s sixteenth-largest economy, is on track to be
the world’s seventh-largest economy by 2030. China
and India are projected to become the largest and third
-largest economies by 2030. Over 290 million people in
China were lifted out of poverty in the decade between
1999 and 2009.
The Secretary-General has rightly focused our
attention this week on the needs of the poor, the
commitment we made to them over a decade ago, and
our vision for the future. We need to finish the job on
the Millennium Development Goals. Beyond 2015, we
must prioritize sustainable economic growth in the
global development framework. We must provide the
opportunity for all people, including people with a
disability, to lead healthy and productive lives, leaving
no one behind. We must support women’s economic
participation and empowerment.
The future of peace will be built on economic
prosperity. Aid is an important part of delivering
sustainable economic growth around the world. It
plays a significant role in supporting economic reforms
and good governance, promoting the rule of law and
building the productive capacity of trade-related
sectors. But it is the effectiveness of aid delivery that
matters. For example, infrastructure deficiencies that
prevent developing economies from fully engaging in
the global markets need to be overcome. Estimates of
infrastructure financing needs, including for the roads
and ports required to facilitate trade, dwarf global
aid. According to the Asian Development Bank, Asia
alone will require $750 billion annually over the next
decade to meet its infrastructure needs. This compares
to annual global aid flows of $130 billion. Only the
private sector has the capacity to mobilize the financing
necessary for such massive infrastructure investments.
There is a role for aid in helping to overcome the
obstacles to investment. It must attract, but should
never replace, private-sector capital. The returns are
high. A joint report of the World Trade Organization
and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development estimates that every dollar invested in
aid-for-trade can lift exports from developing countries
by $8.
We firmly believe that the economic growth of
developing countries can be unlocked through trade.
Australia will continue to promote trade liberalization
through the World Trade Organization, through
regional and sector-specific deals, and through bilateral
free trade negotiations. The Australian Government
aims to build a network of bilateral and regional
free-trade agreements. We will work in the World
Trade Organization to rebuild the multilateral trading
agenda. Australia puts the highest priority on global
economic reform and trade liberalization as the best
way to secure jobs and economic growth. These will be
key themes for us as we chair the Group of 20 in 2014.
No one should pretend that the economic sphere
exists in isolation from other parts of our human
experience. Economic progress alone is not sufficient.
We need to ensure that all people around the world are
free to fully exercise their economic, civil and political
rights. Australia was one of eight nations involved in
drafting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights,
and in 1948 the Australian President of the General
Assembly, our Foreign Minister Mr. H. V. Evatt,
oversaw the adoption of the Declaration (see A/PV.183).
Since then, Australia has been at the forefront of
defending human rights globally and regionally in support
of equality and fundamental freedoms — freedom
from discrimination; freedom from slavery, torture,
arbitrary arrest, detention or exile; freedom of speech,
conscience and religion; freedom to work, to enjoy
health and education and to participate in the life of
the community. Importantly, these freedoms must
extend to all women and girls, including through equal
access to employment, resources, education and health
services, and they must be underpinned by robust and
independent legal systems to enforce economic, social
and political rights.
Australia will continue to promote and protect
human rights standards around the world. That is
why we are seeking membership of the Human Rights
Council for the 2018-2020 term.
The situation in Syria is an urgent security and
humanitarian crisis we must address. Left unchecked,
it will continue to cause great human suffering and
further destabilize the region. Along with the rest of the
world, Australia has condemned the horrific chemical
weapons attack on 21 August, as we have condemned
the Al-Assad regime’s use of conventional weapons
against its own people.
The first obligation of any Government is to protect
its own citizens. In 2005, leaders of all States Members
of the United Nations signed on to this principle in the
World Summit Outcome on the responsibility to protect
(resolution 60/1). Australia, as current President of the
Security Council, will therefore co-sponsor a draft
resolution before the Council that condemns in the
strongest terms any use of chemical weapons. The draft
resolution will make clear, for the first time, that the use
of chemical weapons is a threat to international peace
and security, and in doing so set a new international
norm that will help to deter future use. It will say that
those responsible for using such weapons must be
brought to justice — a call we strongly endorse.
We welcome the fact that draft resolution sets
out in no uncertain terms that the Al-Assad regime
must comply fully with the requirement to destroy its
chemical weapons. The Organization for the Prohibition
of Chemical Weapons now needs strong international
support for its role in the destruction of Syria’s chemical
weapons.
Australia will also continue to press for the Council
to take action to assist the humanitarian effort in Syria
and, of course, provide our full backing to efforts to
find a political solution in accordance with the Geneva
communiqué (S/2012/523, annex) that leads to a
cessation of violence and a political transition which
meets the aspirations of all Syrians.
But we cannot just focus on a single instance of
global security, for we are engaged on security challenges
around the world, including in the Indo-Pacific region.
Through our Security Council membership, we draw on
lessons learned from our experience in peacekeeping
and peacebuilding and take forward initiatives that
are meaningful to our region. We welcome the strong
support which the Security Council gave yesterday to
Australia’s resolution 2117 (2013) on small arms and
light weapons. These weapons are a major driver of
many conflicts that are brought to the attention of the
Council.
When Australia led the Regional Assistance
Mission to the Solomon Islands (RAMSI) 13 years
ago with our friends from New Zealand, Papua New
Guinea and other countries of the Pacific, one of the
first tasks the Mission faced was to restore peace and
security. RAMSI moved quickly to secure the surrender
of firearms — an early and decisive action that
underpinned the peace that was built and maintained
over the next 10 years. And women played a crucial
part.
That is why, throughout the Pacific, we are
supporting efforts to strengthen women’s participation
in policing, through recruitment, retention, training
and mentoring support. In the Philippines, Australia
is funding women’s participation in peace processes
that bring together Muslim, Christian and indigenous
women. And we continue to build on our record on
security, disarmament and peacekeeping. As co-author
of the draft resolution, we worked to secure the adoption
of the world’s first Arms Trade Treaty (resolution
67/234 B), which has now been signed by the majority
of the United Nations membership, with a further 18
signatories being obtained during the course of this
week.
Outside of the Council, we work directly with
countries in our region to build their security. Australia
commends the efforts of Timor-Leste and the Group of
Seven Plus countries emerging from conflict, including
Solomon Islands and Afghanistan, in their efforts to
promote the rule of law, civil and political institutions
and a strong private sector.
The United Nations is a vital forum for the security
and prosperity of our world. That is what Harry
Truman, President of the United States at the time the
United Nations was founded, imagined when he spoke
of a “world fabric of international security and growing
prosperity”. No community can build lives, families
and nations in the absence of stability, predictability
and security. No country can ensure the security of its
people without an economy that offers them the dignity
to pursue lives they value.
As you have made clear, Mr. President, the task the
United Nations takes on this year and next, setting the
stage for the post-2015 development agenda, is one that
could set the course of humankind for decades to come.
On behalf of the people of Australia, I wish all nations
well in taking on that task, and commit Australia to play
its part. Together, we will strive to build the prosperity
that underpins and supports international peace and
security.