Kerry Rea (Bonner, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, I present the committee’s report entitled Human rights in the Asia-Pacific: challenges and opportunities.

Order that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

I am very proud to be before the House this evening to present this report. As I have only a short time to speak, I begin by thanking all those who were involved in the preparation of this report and in the inquiry which was undertaken. In particular I knowledge the deputy chair, the Hon. Philip Ruddock, who is in the House this evening, and all those on the committee who participated in the inquiries. I acknowledge the full committee who have also endorsed this report, in particular the chair, Senator Michael Forshaw, who participated in the inquiry on many occasions and was a good contributor. I particularly acknowledge Ms Samantha Mannette, the inquiry secretary, Paul Zinkel, who was the research officer and is now the new committee secretary, Mrs Donna Quintus-Bosz and the administrative officers Mrs Sonya Gaspar and Ms Gillian Drew. I wish to particularly acknowledge the secretariat because, being a subcommittee of the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Trade, they do not have the full support of the committee secretariat. Obviously they have fewer staff and Samantha and her team did a tremendous job in putting together the inquiries, ensuring that submissions were included and, indeed, in putting this report together. I acknowledge the very hard work on their behalf.

This inquiry and report provides a very detailed analysis of the challenges we face in our region when it comes to greater promotion and protection of individual human rights. Indeed, the Asia-Pacific is the only region on the globe which does not have some form of regional human rights mechanism or body. The report identifies quite clearly a very detailed analysis of why that is the case and outlines in a very informative way the challenges we are faced with in this region. For a start you can appreciate that the Asia-Pacific itself is a very diverse area and the committee really focused on two separate subregions—the Asian subregion and the Pacific Islander nations—which have different challenges and face different issues when it comes to human rights mechanisms and improving the protection of the human rights of their citizens.

We received evidence from many organisations and individuals, quite a diverse range who presented some very interesting information. As a result, I think the recommendations reflect the complex nature of our region and the many challenges and opportunities which exist. The recommendations provide some very practical and achievable steps which can be undertaken by this government to support the improving of human rights protection in our area, whether acknowledging the role of individual bilateral dialogues that Australia holds with Asian countries, promoting them as a very effective tool of discussion and debate within our region, suggesting that the committee can play a more formal and significant role in those dialogues, or asking that the committee be briefed on an annual basis by departmental officials about the outcome of those dialogues and how we can use those discussions to advance human rights in the region.

There is also a recommendation calling for a special envoy to promote discussion among the Pacific Island nations because small nations which do not have a lot of resources and are dealing with the many social and environmental challenges can certainly do with assistance from a neighbour such as us who can help them to develop a mechanism within their own country and a regional approach to human rights that would mean greater protection for all of us and would therefore create a more secure and a safer nation. It is also important that we have recommendations that look at the projects AusAID funds, asking that department to have more of a focus on human rights outcomes when making decisions on projects that it is funding. We do not want them to exclude many good community projects because of a country’s human rights record but rather we want the projects to focus on a human rights outcome. (Time expired)

Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Shadow Cabinet Secretary) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I commend the member for Bonner on presentation of the report entitled Human rights in the Asia-Pacific: challenges and opportunities and endorse particularly her thanks to the committee secretariat, Samantha and Paul, mentioned in particular and her thanks to our colleagues. On 3 September 2008 the Minister for Foreign Affairs asked the committee to inquire into and to report on international and regional mechanisms currently in place to prevent and redress human rights violations with a view to providing options on possible models that may be suitable for the Asia-Pacific region, with a focus on the United Nations human rights system and regional mechanisms and the role of the parliament.

It is very important to understand that, in making this reference, while there may have been expectations that there would be clear and definitive outcomes recommended, the nature of this particular region presents challenges as well as opportunities. Unlike other regions in the world, the report notes that the Asia-Pacific region does not have strong and broad-based human rights mechanisms for preventing and redressing human rights violations and that the Asia-Pacific is diverse and complex, with a mosaic of human rights challenges. While there have been recent improvements, the committee notes the realisation of economic and social rights in some nations in the region, the evidence nevertheless is that there are many human rights issues in this region which need to be tackled.

The committee itself examined the stumbling blocks to that, including geography, resources, lack of a cohesive regional identity, limited engagement with human rights concepts, and the perceived tensions of culture. The lack of shared identity particularly, when considering the Asia Pacific as a single regional entity, is a considerable obstacle for nations and organisations in the region to overcome when seeking to work cooperatively on any issue, be it national security, trade, climate change or even human rights. All of us have a desire, a preference, for focusing on these issues and addressing them, but we certainly came to a view that these subregions in the Asia Pacific were very challenging. There was a common theme which emerged in the course of our inquiry that suggested that human rights issues were better addressed regionally rather than across the totality of the region. This presented the committee with a particular challenge.

The committee also, in looking at the recommendations from the minister that we needed to consider, recognised that bilateral dialogues were important within the region, fostering and strengthening relationships with countries in the region, and that understanding, mutual respect and trust must be a feature of those relationships. The committee recognised that these dialogues are a formal government-to-government mechanism. It did, however, note concerns in the evidence that unaccountable dialogue could lead to a degree of complacency, and for that reason the committee recommended that the government delegations who deal bilaterally with human rights in China and Vietnam include parliamentary representation, particularly through the Human Rights Subcommittee.

The committee also acknowledged that the ratifications of treaties are voluntary and we were mindful that nations already parties to treaties also face challenges. They do not have resources and we believe that there needs to be a targeted approach to dealing with those questions. We suggested a way forward in relation to that.

But I think the most important issue that the committee addressed is the way forward. The committee endorsed the Australian government’s role in enhancing engagement but appreciated that Australia had to be sensitive to the way in which this issue is addressed, and on the basis of the evidence that we received we thought there was no blueprint that we could specifically recommend. That is the reason we came to a view that the model for the Asia-Pacific community that the government had outlined is one that might be suitable here. Richard Woolcott has been a special envoy to engage capitals in wide discussion, and we were mindful that Australia, not being prescriptive in relation to these matters, could move the matter forward if we were able to appoint a special envoy for the Asia-Pacific region. (Time expired)

Steve Georganas (Hindmarsh, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the member for Bonner wish to move a motion in connection with the report to enable it to be debated on a future occasion?

Ms Anna Burke (Chisholm, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

In accordance with standing order 39(c), the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting and the member will have leave to continue speaking when the debate is resumed.