UN not perfect, must work for all states, says Scott Morrison

Scott Morrison will argue the UN faces new challenges respon­ding to the pandemic in a speech today.

PrIme Minister Scott Morrison. Picture: Joel Carrett

Scott Morrison will argue that the UN faces new challenges respon­ding to the pandemic, as well as maritime and territorial disputes, in a speech laying out new objectives for the success of multilateral organisations in the 21st century.

In a national statement to the 75th UN General Assembly, the Prime Minister will warn that the UN is “not perfect” and must “continue to deliver for us and all nations” over the next 75 years by serving member states’ interests.

“The UN is its members, not its committees, processes, institutions or officials,” Mr Morrison will say. “Today there are 193 UN mem­ber states … with more voices and challenges comes complexity, negotiation, processes, bureau­cracy that would test any organisation.”

“We want these multilateral institutions to continue to deliver for us and all nations. So we’re committed to ensuring they are fit for purpose, that they’re effective, that they’re open and transparent and, most importantly, that they are accountable to the sovereign states that form them.”

Mr Morrison will caution that sovereignty does not mean “turning inwards” and warns against a “retreat into the downward spiral of protectionism”, but says multilateralism must remain effective in responding to emerging issues and “serve all countries rather than any single power”.

The 15-minute speech, to be delivered from Sydney due to the pandemic, trumpets the importance of multilateralism in respon­ding to COVID-19, with the Prime Minister saying there was now a “mandate to identify the zoonotic source of the COVID-19 virus and how it was transmitted to humans”.

Mr Morrison will strongly defend­ Australia’s push for the global inquiry into the origins of COVID-19, which has sparked ongoing pushback from Beijing. “Australia strongly advocated for this review. The virus has inflicted­ a calamity on our world and its peoples. We must do all we can to understand what happened, for no other purpose than to prevent it from happening again.”

He will issue a warning that countries who develop successful coronavirus vaccines “must share it”, declaring that “some might see short-term advantage or even profit” in refusing to do so.

“I assure you to anyone who may think along those lines, human­ity will have a very long memory and be a very, very severe judge … Australia’s pledge is clear: if we find the vaccine, we will share it. That’s the pledge we all must make.”

Amid increasing regional tensions dominated by China’s milit­ary and soft-power expansion in the Indo-Pacific, Mr Morrison will also say Australians prize ­“respect for international law and the peaceful resolution of disputes through dialogue”.

“This includes ensuring that competing territorial and maritime claims are based on, and determi­ned in line with, international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.”

Mr Morrison will identify re­form­ of the World Trade Organisation as a key objective, advocat­ing for rules that are pre­dictable, transparent and non-discriminatory and which keep pace with technological advancement.

“We know that trade creates wealth and brings nations together,’’ he will say. “It makes us more prosperous, all of us.

“We won’t retreat into the downward spiral of protectionism in Australia. We’re working hard to preserve crucial elements of the WTO’s dispute settlement system so trade rules can continue to be enforced.

“Australia also relies heavily on the international stand­ards that UN technical bodies set, espec­ially in areas like aviation, telecommunications, and health.

“We need to make sure these standards serve all countries rather than any single power, and that they are developed in line with the fundamental­ principles of the global­ order.”