Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Trade) Share this | Hansard source

I present the explanatory memorandum to this bill and I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Amendment Bill 2013 amends the International Organisations (Privileges and Immunities) Act 1963 to bring the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) within the scope of the act.

The effect of the bill will be to provide a legislative basis for the subsequent enactment of regulations conferring certain privileges and immunities on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Criminal Court.

In relation to the International Committee of the Red Cross, the bill introduces a new section 9D into the act, which provides a basis for the conferral of privileges and immunities on the International Committee of the Red Cross in accordance with the 2005 ‘Arrangement between Australia and the International Committee of the Red Cross on a Regional Headquarters in Australia’. This memorandum of understanding confers legal personality on the International Committee of the Red Cross in Australia and other privileges and immunities needed to facilitate its work in Australia and the Pacific region. The International Committee of the Red Cross is Australia’s largest partner organisation in humanitarian action. The amendments will allow the government to implement this memorandum of understanding.

In the case of the International Criminal Court, the bill introduces a new section 9C, which provides a basis for the conferral of privileges and immunities on the International Criminal Court in accordance with the ‘Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court’. This will enable steps to be taken towards Australia’s accession to the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court. This will be a further expression of Australia’s strong support for the International Criminal Court.

The bill also makes consequential amendments to sections 3 and 7 of the act, regarding international conferences, to ensure that section 7 can also be used in future in relation to the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Criminal Court, as with international organisations to which the act applies. This provision is not automatic and it would require a future determination by the Governor-General plus the enactment of further regulations.

In conclusion, the bill will amend the act to allow the enactment of regulations conferring privileges and immunities on the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Criminal Court. This will enable implementation of the government’s commitments in its memorandum of understanding and will enable steps to be taken towards Australia’s accession to the Agreement on Privileges and Immunities of the International Criminal Court.

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