Labor will appoint an ambassador for human rights if it wins the federal election, pledging to restore Australia’s leadership on the world stage and draw a line under Scott Morrison’s “negative globalism”.
Weeks after it emerged the Australian Human Rights Commission risks having its global accreditation downgraded, Labor also promised to “defend” the institution with a return to merit-based appointments.
The policy to be outlined on Thursday includes the appointment of a dedicated ambassador for human rights to “advance the rights and protections for people living with a disability, ethnic and religious minorities, and LGBTIQ+ individuals”.
The shadow minister for foreign affairs, Penny Wong, said Australia must strengthen its capacity to uphold the international human rights system and to work with partners to counter attempts to undermine it.
“Amid rising authoritarianism and repeated assaults on the global rules-based order, it is more important than ever to ensure Australia’s foreign policy advances our interests and our values – to shape the world for the better,” she told Guardian Australia.
“There is a clear choice between more of the same under Scott Morrison – and restoring Australia’s place in the international community with Anthony Albanese.”
Labor mentioned actions by authoritarian leaders in Russia, China and Myanmar in an accompanying policy statement.
“From [Vladimir] Putin’s illegal and immoral war against the innocent people of Ukraine, to the undermining of the One Country, Two Systems arrangement in Hong Kong, and the military in Myanmar, authoritarian leaders are undermining the rule of law and the letter and spirit of the UN Charter,” the statement said.
Amanda Gorely, a career diplomat, serves as Australia’s ambassador and permanent representative to the UN and to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. While Gorely’s responsibilities include engaging with the UN on human rights, she also has a much broader remit for disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.
It is understood Labor’s planned new position of a dedicated ambassador for human rights is intended to fill the gap between the Geneva-based representative and the Australian Human Rights Commission.
The ambassador, to be based in Australia but who would travel as needed, would engage with human rights organisations and diaspora groups in Australia on international human rights issues.
The AHRC was put on notice last month that it risks having its global accreditation downgraded.
It is claimed the government bypassed open merit-based selection processes for the appointment of Lorraine Finlay as human rights commissioner in 2021 and Ben Gauntlett as disability discrimination commissioner in 2019.
Labor vowed to appoint commissioners “in a transparent manner on the basis of merit, consistent with international standards”.
To date, however, Labor has not committed to reversing the government’s funding cuts to the AHRC, which have contributed to the loss of one in three jobs.
The shadow attorney general, Mark Dreyfus, said a Labor government would “do far more to stand up for our values by defending and promoting the rule of law in both the domestic and international arenas”.
Labor argues Morrison’s previous comments about “negative globalism” amounted to “deriding the worth of international rules and norms”.
In a speech in Sydney in 2019 when Donald Trump was still US president, Morrison warned against “an unaccountable internationalist bureaucracy” or “any reflex towards a negative globalism that coercively seeks to impose a mandate from an often ill-defined borderless global community”.
Since the onset of the pandemic, however, Morrison has adopted a more positive tone about the importance of international cooperation, while raising concerns about a new “arc of autocracy”.
