The rules-based order is breaking down before our eyes |
In an edited version of a speech delivered at the Restoring Democracy launch in Melbourne, Gillian Triggs says that weakening respect for international law, human rights and democratic institutions is placing both global stability and Australian democracy under pressure.
On this day 125 years ago, Australians gathered at the Exhibition Building here in Melbourne for the opening of the first Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia under the Federal Constitution. The Tom Roberts painting of the event – The Big Picture – shows confidence and optimism for the future of Australia as a modern democratic nation. 125 years later that confidence and optimism that dissipated.
Our purpose today is to refresh, renew and reform Australian democracy, to meet the contemporary challenges of globalisation; the rise in civil and international conflict, climate change, the movement of millions of people seeking international protection and opportunities, threats to free trade, pandemics, and growing inequality and injustice.
In the 21st century we have seen a decline in respect for the vital elements of democracy, especially a decline in respect for the rule of law, though, of course, this has never been perfect. I support the efforts today to revive our commitment as Australians to the democratic ideal through civic education about the constitutional roles of the executive, parliament and an independent judiciary, to the principle of the separation of powers and the rule of law, and to increased local and community participation in decision-making, and to economic justice and international engagement.
While the challenges to democracy within Australia are real, my focus is an international one. For the health of democracy and the rule of law cannot be understood only by reference to national issues. In our interconnected world, we must consider how the international rule of law can be strengthened to respond to global challenges that affect us all.
Indeed, it is no wonder that the decline in respect for the principles of democracy in national laws is reflected in international behaviour.
Let us recall the modern foundations of the international rules -based order that lie with the UN Charter agreed in 1945 at the end of the Second World War by 51 nations, including the Permanent members, China, Russia, UK, US, and France, and Australia as a founding member. In 1948, another major foundational document, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, was agreed by the UN General Assembly under the Presidency of Australia’s Doc Evatt, an precursor to the strong support Australia has long given to the evolving rules-based order.
The UN Charter set the core values of the international order:
We the peoples of the UN determined to save generations from the scourge of war and to affirm fundamental human rights and the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of all agree:
That all members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.
Over the last 80 years, the international community has agreed to an unprecedented and comprehensive body of laws to promote international peace and human rights.
Despite this growth in international law making in the 20th century, in the 21st century we have seen respect for the rule of law in international relations decline globally. Today, there is a weakened respect for multilateralism and a retreat from international legal obligations, notably by the very nations that negotiated, promoted and benefited........