International relations

Australia thanks the High Commissioner and her office for their oral update. We note with deep sadness and concern the recent anniversary of flawed presidential elections in Belarus, and the arrest of human rights defenders in July 2021. We have also witnessed the regrettable erosion of media independence in Belarus.

I commend the Council for this Annual Discussion on the integration of a gender perspective throughout its work and that of its mechanisms.

Increased reliance on technology for school, work and leisure has created further opportunities, particularly during COVID-19, for perpetrators to abuse, monitor, isolate, humiliate and control, both overtly and covertly.

The Australian Government welcomes the statement by the European Union (EU) on 24 September 2021 denouncing malicious cyber activity against its member states.

Australia congratulates South Sudan on its 10th anniversary as an independent state. We welcome recent developments, including a reconstituted Transitional National Legislative Assembly, and initial steps to develop the permanent constitution.

The health emergency caused by COVID-19 and its consequences highlighted the essential role that care work plays in our daily life, in society and in the economy. Furthermore, it exposed that the unequal distribution of care work is one of the main root causes of gender inequalities.

Australia supports climate change action through its development assistance program, guided by the International Development Policy

The Australian Government has developed a public communications campaign to help all Australians understand our world-leading initiatives to cut emissions – and the progress Australia has made. 

The Morrison Government’s $1.2 billion hydrogen investment is set to increase, boosting economic activity and jobs in regional Australia.

More than 70 years ago, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights proclaimed that all human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights and that everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth. However, in reality, discrimination, either de jure or de facto, persists, even in the diplomatic arena.

Australia remains deeply concerned by the deteriorating human rights situation in Myanmar. It is over 7 months since the military coup in Myanmar, and with each month that passes, the death toll and number of arrests continue to rise. Many of those killed and detained have been young people exercising their rights to freedom of assembly and expression.