Role of Australia in the UN Middle Power Diplomacy - Essay Example

R.Preeti 12/10/2009 Australia and the UN Middle Power Diplomacy Australia's position today, in East Asia and the world, has been embedded in the context of the turn of events in the 20th century, which witnessed a complete shift in the ranking of countries as super-powers, middle-powers and weaker countries. The Cold War and the dawn of the 21st century has only added on to the deepening of this feature. Australia has been ranked as a Middle-power, capable of having considerable influence in the East Asian region, and the world community, at large. Australia, on its part, has played the role to a certain extent, and also has its own share of challenges to counter, as a Middle-Power, especially as part of the United Nations framework. This paper is an attempt to outline the status of Australia as a Middle-Power and its role in the United Nations' framework of Diplomacy. AUSTRALIA AND MIDDLE POWER DIPLOMACY In the aftermath of the Cold War, Australian Foreign Minister, Gareth Evans strategically placed Australia as the 'middle power' that would eventually play an important role in coalition-formation and thus, frame some kind of leadership initiative of activist nature. "In a book co-authored with Bruce Grant, Evans sought to resuscitate an idea which he believed had fallen into disrepair since the 1970s. "Middle power diplomacy" had "regained some currency as the most useful way of describing the kind of role that some nations like Australia have been playing in recent times, or to which they might reasonably aspire"." (The Australian Journal of Politics and History, Dec, 2007 by Carl Ungerer ). Thus, the concept of a middle-power, is one that has gained momentum in today's world that no longer suffers solely from the dichotomy of the small powers and big powers. Ever since, Australia's foreign policy has always outlined its aspirations as a middle-power, in terms of bringing about consensus and cooperation among nations, in the East Asian region, especially in international forums like the United Nations. The Australian government has been trying to build up cooperation in forums like the ANZUS, APEC, ASEAN, etc, with not just its regional neighbours, but also other influential players in the larger criteria of the region, like China and India. As the fifth largest economy in East Asia, Australia has indeed an important role to play. While this is the effect in the regional for a, Australia has been playing a rather active role in the United Nations, as well. The website of the Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade outlined this aspiration of the country. The country's aspirations to secure international peace, security and cooperation, to work for humanitarian cause et al, has been outlined. "On coming to office in December 2007, the Australian Government made clear its commitment to the multilateral system as one of the three fundamental pillars of Australia's foreign policy. Australia is determined to work through the United Nations to enhance security and economic well-being worldwide, and to uphold the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. Australia is determined to help address serious global challenges including conflict prevention, international development, climate change, terrorism and the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction The Security Council plays a key role in addressing many of these challenges, and we stand ready to take on the responsibility of helping to address these challenges in the world's pre-eminent body." Apart from this, in March 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has asserted that Australia's foreign policy would be dependent on the idea of Middle-Power, which is an attempt to use its power as a middle-power , to influence world decisions for the betterment of the human race. For this, the country relies on persuasion or what is called 'soft power'. This aspect of middle-power can be traced back to practical implementation of the idea. "The success of the Canberra Conference (1947) and the important mediatory role Australia played in the Indonesian independence negotiations with the Dutch through the UN Good Offices Commission (1947-49).....gave middle powers such as Australia a greater opportunity to contribute to the broader questions of economic and social development that increasingly occupied the agenda of international politics in the post-war years." (The Australian Journal of Politics and History, Dec, 2007 by Carl Ungerer ). Australia, in keeping with its role as a middle-power, has only reiterated its position, by exercising its power in areas of conflict, like the case mentioned here. Hence, Australia as a middle power, has indeed lent a rather supportive stance to the hegemon(s) in directing the flow of international relations to a considerable extent. IT is now time to look at the role Australia, as a middle power has played in the United Nations: AUSTRALIA AS A MIDDLE-POWER AND THE UNITED NATIONS "Australia works for a world order based on the principles and purposes of the United Nations. We are conscious of the great world issues of power and their interaction with issues of regional security. We recognise the special responsibilities of the great powers, as the charter of the United Nations does, but we also insist on a proper role being accorded to the middle and small powers, which for their part have responsibilities to discharge and rights to be respected." This is the speech made by the External Affairs Minister under Evans, Paul Hasluck, and is an insight into Australia's stand in terms of its relations with the United Nations. As far as the United Nations is concerned, Australia has been involved in a number of activities, that have expressed their stand on a number of issues. Australia was a founding member of the United Nations and had close ties with the supranational organisation, until the country's record of racism and human rights abuse came as a blot. However, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd steering towards betterment of ties, Australia is once again a favourite. The country has been involved in aspects like peace-keeping operations, in initiative to reform and restructure the United Nations, etc. UN REFORMS In terms of reformation of the United Nations, to make it a truly effective international forum for peace and cooperation among the nations of the world, Australia has been making some key recommendations "of the High Level Panel on UN System-Wide Coherence, including the "one UN" model which aims to increase the effectiveness of aid delivery and improve development results on the ground", says the website. NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT Apart from the basic question of the reformation of the United Nations, Australia has an important role to play in the upkeep of security. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation is the linchpin of this stance. The Australian government, a part to the treaty, is supportive of this treaty, as it believes this is the only way to secure coordination of operations in the highly volatile area of nuclear proliferation. "The Australian Safeguards and Non-Proliferation Office (ASNO) acts as Australia's national safeguards authority, responsible for the performance of Australia's safeguards and non-proliferation obligations and for facilitating IAEA safeguards activities in Australia." Apart from the NPT, Australia is also committed to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty as well. Further, The Canberra Commission on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, was established to look into the growing menace of nuclear armament and to clarify Australia's stand on the issue. The establishment of Asia Pacific Civil-Military Centre of Excellence by the Australian government, is proof enough, of Australia's commitment to this aspect of forging sustainable development. PEACE-KEEPING OPERATIONS Australia was the first peace-keeper to work with the United Nations, when it was sent to Indonesia, during their independence struggle, as already mentioned above. Utilising its capacity as a middle-power, Australia has been involved in about forty peace-keeping operations thus far, especially in Rwanda, Somalia, Namibia, Cambodia, etc. This means, huge mobilisation of resources, military observations, monitoring ceasefires et al. The most recent aspect of this mission has been in East Timor, besides having the Australian Defense Force in participating in the United Nations Mission in Sudan, to support the African Union. HUMAN RIGHTS In the area of Human Rights, Australia is serious about its commitment to oust any form of racial discrimination from its soil. "The United Nations (UN) Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD Committee) has asked that Australia submit its 15th, 16th and 17th reports (CERD reports) in one single report. The reports will cover Australia's compliance with its obligations under the UN International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD Convention) during the period from 1 July 2002 to 30 June 2008." During the premiership of Howard, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson had criticised the government for an abysmal track record of human rights violations. In fact, racism in Australia is a huge issue, and has succeeded in impeding relations with other nations. However, the current government under Rudd is only working towards bettering that record. DECOLONISATION In addition to working with the United Nations on the above aspects, Australia also has its commitment in place for decolonisation of the third world countries. This is evidenced in the decolonisation of Papua and New Guinea, besides the process of integrating Cocos and Keeling Islands to the Australian Commonwealth, solely based on consent and interest from the latter. The island nation has also overseen the process of moving towards the granting of independence to several nations in the South Pacific region. INDIGENOUS PEOPLE'S RIGHTS Another issue that Australia as a middle-power is committed to is that of recognizing the rights of the indigenous peoples of varied regions. Australia is very involved with the United Nations, on this front. It is a part of the conception of United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, working towards retaining and protecting the interests of the indigenous peoples. GENDER EQUALITY Apart from the above mentioned issues, Australia has also been concerned about gender and the inequality meted out to women. In fact, the Australian government's website says, "Australian political activist Jessie Street was the sole woman on Australia's delegation to the 1945 San Francisco Conference which drafted the UN Charter." The establishment of the Commission for Women Rights in 1946, is credited to her, as also the attempt to include women in the purview of the United Nations Charter. While she set the precedent for this, Australia as a middle power continues to work towards this end. An example of this is the Beijing Platform for Action, that works for the empowerment of women. This was adopted at the United Nations 4th World Conference on Women in 1995. Hence, Australia's committed towards the abolition of gender equalities, especially with the United Nations is commendable. PERMANENT MISSION OF AUSTRALIA TO THE UNITED NATIONS IN NEW YORK Hence, Australia, in its capacity as a world middle-power has been playing an active role, in forging multi-lateral ties, for cooperation and betterment of the quality of life, through its commitment to the above mentioned areas of focus. IN furthering this mission, the Australian Government has established a permanent mission to the United Nations, in New York, with the aim of further involvement in the activities to that effect. In fact, in March 2008, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd also announced that he would seek a seat as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council, for the 2013-2014 term. Evidently, Australia has not been involved intimately with the United Nations, only in the last one year, but over half a century, in various aspects, like Disarmament, Peace-Keeping, Decolonisation, ensuring the safeguard of Human Rights, etc. With the decline in close ties with the United Nations in between, Australia's middle power diplomacy was slightly affected. However, ever since March 2008, there has only been an upward swing, thanks to the process of 'repairing relations', that has seen exchanges between the United Nations and the Australian Government under Kevin Rudd. Delegations on both sides have been working towards the attainment of this end. Thus, Australia's role as a Middle-Power and its role in the United Nations' framework of Diplomacy has been one that has evolved over time. REFERENCES (MLA FORMAT) International Organization Foundation , 'Middle Power Leadership and Coalition Building: Australia, the Cairns Group, and the Uruguay Round of Trade Negotiations ', Author(s): Richard A. Higgott and Andrew Fenton Cooper , Source: International Organization, Vol. 44, No. 4 (Autumn, 1990), pp. 589-632 JSTOR, Website, The Australian Journal of Politics and History, Carl Ungerer, Dec, 2007. Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Website, Last Modified: 2009-01-16 09:17:38 Read More