Experts call for Australia to advocate for humanitarian law at UN summit
Peacebuilding and conflict prevention experts are calling for Australia to put accountability for crimes, atrocities and grave violations of International Humanitarian Law at the centre of the country’s contributions to the upcoming United Nations ‘Summit of the Future’ negotiations.
The case for Australia to push for reinforcement of the international human rights framework at the UN negotiations is made in a briefing paper titled ‘Impunity, Accountability and Respect for Human Rights and the Rule of Law’ prepared by Professor Erika Feller AO for the Initiative for Peacebuilding. The paper will be submitted to the Australian Government.
Professor Feller, a Professorial Fellow at the University of Melbourne and former Assistant High Commissioner for Protection with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, has called for Australia to review what it is doing and can do at a national level to contribute to greater respect for both International Humanitarian Law, and for human rights internationally.
“I hope Australia will support concrete measures to reinforce the international human rights framework, including through more funding for the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“Improving international cooperation on critical issues such as conflict de-escalation and ending gross violations of justice is in all our best interests and is the responsible thing to do”, Professor Feller said.
The Summit of the Future will be held from 22–23 September 2024 in New York and is the culmination of international discussions based on the 2021 report from the United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres titled ‘Our Common Agenda’. The Summit is billed as ‘a high-level event, bringing world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.’
This paper is the first in a series prepared by the Initiative for Peacebuilding to stimulate discussion of key issues on the agenda for the Summit, with a focus on Australia’s role and responsibilities in improving global outcomes.
The Initiative for Peacebuilding is an initiative of the University of Melbourne’s Faculty of Arts, and brings together multidisciplinary research, engagement, and education to advance peacebuilding and conflict prevention in the Indo-Pacific region.