UN SECURITY COUNCIL OPEN DEBATE ON MAINTENANCE OF INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY: PRACTICING MULTILATERALISM, REFORMING AND IMPROVING GLOBAL GOVERNANCE
STATEMENT BY H.E. MR JAMES LARSEN, AMBASSADOR AND PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE, PERMANENT MISSION OF AUSTRALIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS
20 February 2025
Thank you, President.
Engaging with the multilateral system is a key pillar of Australia's foreign policy.
This is because we live in a complex, inter-connected world where we need each other to address many of the major challenges we face.
Today, I have three key points:
First, the United Nations Charter and the multilateral system it established is the foundation of international peace and security.
The UN Charter outlines core principles that every Member State of the United Nations agrees to abide by.
The sovereign equality of all.
The peaceful settlement of disputes.
The equal rights and self-determination of peoples.
And the establishment of the conditions for the maintenance of international law.
Australia strongly supports and promote these principles.
That is why, for example, we are working with various Member States to launch a new Declaration for the Protection of Humanitarian Personnel, to uphold and champion international humanitarian law and drive action to protect humanitarian personnel in conflict zones.
We urge all Member States to uphold these principles and to fulfil the promise of the UN Charter – to achieve and maintain global peace and security.
Second, the multilateral system needs reform to better serve us all. We will continue to advocate for a system which is more representative, effective, accountable, and transparent.
This includes securing greater representation on the Security Council for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific.
And enhancing accountability and transparency around the use of the veto.
The need for reform also extends to the international peacebuilding architecture given the increasing number of protracted and complex conflicts.
Through our term on the Peacebuilding Commission, we look forward to contributing to the peacebuilding architecture review to ensure we work more effectively to prevent the outbreak, escalation, continuation, and recurrence of conflict and to foster post-conflict recovery.
Third, we recognise that human rights and gender equality underpin development, peace and security for everyone.
Human rights violations often precede, and can be an early warning sign of, the outbreak of armed conflict. Oppression, inequalities and lack of justice and accountability make violence more likely. That is why we raise concerns about serious human rights violations – because we all pay a price when the world that is more dangerous, more divided, less stable and poorer.
And it is why, with Canada, Germany, and the Netherlands, we have launched action against Afghanistan for violations of the human rights of women and girls as enshrined in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.
We also look forward during our term on the United Nation’s Economic and Social Council to working with members to progress development for all – a key precondition to institutional peace and security.
President,
Global security, stability, and prosperity depend on an effective multilateral system.
Australia believes that all countries are better off in a world where international rules are clear, mutually agreed and consistently followed.
Collectively, we all have both a need but also a responsibility to work to ensure this system delivers for all of us.
At the same time, we need to do more to enhance the efficiency, effectiveness, and transparency of the system.
By doing so, we will ensure the global system is fit for purpose, now and into the future.
Thank you.