News Stories - 17 August 2007
Australian secures top police job at the UN
Mr Andrew Hughes, one of Australia’s most highly regarded police officers, has been appointed as Police Advisor in the United Nations Department of Peace Operations.
As the UN’s most senior police officer, Mr Hughes will be responsible for coordinating police involvement in UN peace efforts and UN capacity building projects in fragile states.
His appointment is a reflection of Australia’s strong and longstanding contribution to UN and regional peacekeeping operations.
Mr Hughes is one of Australia’s most highly regarded police officers, with over 30 years policing experience.
He is an Assistant Commissioner with the Australian Federal Police, currently performing the role of Chief Police Officer for the ACT. Most recently, from 2003 to 2006, Mr Hughes led a major program of reform of the Fiji Police Force and served as the chairman of the Pacific Islands Chiefs of Police.
Between 2000 and 2002 he was elected to the serve on the executive committee of Interpol. Mr Hughes has been at the forefront of Australia’s contribution to recent UN peacekeeping operations.
Mr Hughes will bring expertise, energy and commitment to the UN Police Advisor position at a time when police are an increasingly important component of UN peace operations.
Mr Hughes is expected to take up his appointment in September 2007.
Australia hosts International Criminal Court Prosecutor
A visit to Australia by the International Criminal Court Prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, strengthens Australian and regional engagement with the International Criminal Court.
Australia demonstrated its strong support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) by hosting a visit of the Court’s Prosecutor, Mr Luis Moreno-Ocampo, from 5 to 11 August 2007.
The ICC is the first permanent international tribunal with jurisdiction over genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Australia used this visit to encourage countries in the Asia-Pacific region to become party to the ICC’s statute.
Both the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, and the Attorney-General, Philip Ruddock, addressed a regional seminar promoting the Court, emphasising the role that becoming party to the ICC’s statute could play in enhancing regional peace and security and strengthening the rule of law.
Seminar attendees included senior officials from a number of countries in the region, diplomatic representatives, civil society groups and academic institutions.
Representatives of Samoa, Japan, Indonesia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea, Cook Islands, Philippines, Laos and Nepal attended from capitals.
Canberra-based representatives from a number of countries attended, including Indonesia, Thailand, Samoa, Philippines, Bangladesh, Laos, Solomon Islands, Vietnam, Papua New Guinea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Switzerland, Canada and Argentina.
The following countries in the region are already party to the ICC Statute: Australia, New Zealand, East Timor, Samoa, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Fiji, Cambodia, South Korea, Japan, Mongolia and Afghanistan.
Australia will continue to engage with countries in the region and will work with civil society groups and academic institutions to promote the benefits of the ICC and to discuss options for practical capacity-building and technical assistance as requested.
We would welcome any information that countries in the region may wish to provide on how Australia may be assist them in this regard.
The visit of the Court’s Prosecutor was highly successful and a likely precursor to enhanced engagement and collaboration between Australia and the ICC.
Australia provides $2.2 million for South Asia floods relief
The Australian Government will provide $2.2 million towards emergency relief and recovery efforts in communities in Bangladesh and Nepal affected by severe monsoon floods.
To assist relief efforts, Australia’s international aid agency, AusAID, will contribute $1.6 million through the World Food Programme (WFP) for Bangladesh to meet immediate food needs and support recovery programs.
For Nepal, Australia will provide $500,000 through the WFP for food rations and $100,000 for relief operations of the Nepal Red Cross.
Flooding has affected over 40 million people across South Asia so far this season, which has been the worst in many years.
Some 7.6 million people in Bangladesh have been affected and 400 have died as a result of flooding from the Ganges-Padma and Brahmaputra-Jamuna Rivers. In Nepal, floods and landslides have affected over 330,000 people and caused 105 deaths.
This assistance is in addition to $2.5 million in humanitarian assistance already provided for Pakistan, in response to the combined effects of heavy storms and Cyclone Yemyin in late June.
Australia will continue to monitor closely emergency needs across the flood zone and stands ready to provide further assistance if required.
News Stories - 9 August
Comprehensive Partnership commits Australia and ASEAN to deeper engagement
Australia and ASEAN signed the Joint Declaration on the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Partnership on 1 August. The Comprehensive Partnership builds on the momentum of existing relations and provides a framework for future engagement with ASEAN.
On 31 July and 1 August, the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Alexander Downer, attended the annual ASEAN Post Ministerial Conferences, the East Asia Summit (EAS) Foreign Ministers’ Meeting and the South-West Pacific Dialogue in Manila, the Philippines.
The tone of the meetings was constructive and positive and reflected the strong state of ASEAN-Australia relations.
Mr Downer noted the success of regional cooperation in a range of areas, including counter-terrorism, and drew attention to the extent of Australia’s development assistance to the region, reflecting our role as a constructive regional partner.
Mr Downer and his ASEAN counterparts signed a Joint Declaration on the ASEAN-Australia Comprehensive Partnership.
The Declaration reflects the breadth and maturity of the ASEAN-Australia relationship.
It builds on the momentum of this relationship and provides a framework for our future engagement with ASEAN, covering political and security, economic, socio-cultural and development cooperation.
Mr Downer also announced two new initiatives:
- In partnership with CARE Australia, Australia is providing $6.7 million for community-awareness and surveillance activities to combat avian influenza in Burma, Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
- ď€Australia is also committing $500,000 to work with the ASEAN Regional Taskforce on Child sex Tourism to develop a transition plan for a sustainable response to child sex tourism in South-East Asia.
EAS Foreign Ministers welcomed the pace at which the forum had developed since its inaugural meeting in 2005, including a program of practical initiatives to address key strategic challenges in the region.
There was good support for work on regional financial cooperation and integration, originally proposed by Australia.
Ministers endorsed Singapore’s theme for the next EAS in November, “Energy, Environment, Climate Change and Sustainable Development” which will dovetail neatly with the APEC Leaders’ theme on climate change.
Mr Downer also attended the South-West Pacific Dialogue, which was hosted by the Philippines, and included Indonesia, East Timor, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.
Discussion focused on cooperation to address challenges facing the sub-region including terrorism, illegal fishing and climate change, with a number of Ministers expressing appreciation for Australian assistance in these areas.
Pacific Islands Forum Trade Ministers agree to consider regional free trade agreement
Forum island countries (FICs) have agreed to preliminary consultations in 2008 on a way forward for a comprehensive free trade agreement between FICs and Australia and New Zealand.
At the Forum Trade Ministers meeting in Port Vila on 2-3 April, the Minister for Trade, Warren Truss, and FIC colleagues agreed to consultations in early 2008 to map a way forward for free trade negotiations between FICs and Australia and New Zealand.
(FICs comprise Cook Islands, Fiji, PNG, Solomon Islands, Samoa, Palau, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of the Marshall Islands, Niue, Tonga, Vanuatu, Tuvalu and Kiribati)
A new regional free trade agreement will drive regional economic growth and spur greater economic integration.
Any future negotiations will be conducted in a cooperative spirit and for the mutual benefit of Australia and New Zealand and FICs.
Trade liberalisation and good governance must go hand-in-hand to deliver regional prosperity.
Australia will continue to work with FICs to invest in institutions that provide for economic growth and stability.
Australia’s two-way trade with FICs is worth $6.8 billion annually, with Australia running a modest deficit of $570 million. Trade with Australia is good for the Pacific region.
Available 2006 figures demonstrate that those Pacific countries which trade more with Australia derive the greatest benefit. Papua New Guinea, Fiji and Samoa have the most significant trade flows and run trade surpluses. This is a clear case for closer regional trade engagement.
APEC Finance Ministers’ Meeting furthers practical economic cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region
APEC Finance Ministers recognised that the three ‘Es’ – the economy, energy and environment – are inextricably linked.
The Australian Treasurer, Peter Costello, hosted the 2007 APEC Finance Ministers’ meeting on 2-3 August in Coolum.
The meeting was attended by finance ministers from the 21 APEC member economies and high-level representatives from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC).
Australia placed important issues on the agenda, such as climate change and energy security, to generate dialogue on solutions to the most significant emerging pressures facing APEC economies.
On climate change, ministers agreed that APEC economies need to expand the use and transfer of new, more efficient technology that favours lower emissions. They also agreed that cooperation on emissions trading schemes was important to ensure future regional harmonisation.
Ministers recognised the need for ongoing vigilance in setting macroeconomic policy and for greater flexibility in energy markets to maintain growth in the Asia-Pacific region.
Other key issues discussed by APEC finance ministers included sustainable government finances, investment in our region, and strengthening private capital markets.
The discussions will directly inform APEC Economic Leaders’ consideration of these issues in September.
Australia supporting the Asia-Pacific’s best and brightest
Many of the Asia-Pacific’s leaders of tomorrow receive special recognition as part of a major Australian Leadership Awards initiative.
Over 150 current and emerging leaders from 26 Asia-Pacific countries* attended the inaugural Australian Leadership Awards Conference in Canberra from 9-10 August.
They are studying at Masters and PhD level in Australia under the Australian Leadership Awards Scholarships (ALAS) program, part of the $1.4 billion Australian Scholarships initiative.
Many of the scholars are leaders in their fields with expertise in areas such as journalism, law, marine biology, public health and engineering.
The Asia-Pacific faces many complex challenges and the Australian Scholarships initiative enhances leadership and educational achievement in the region and builds mutual understanding between Australia and its Asia-Pacific partners.
The conference is the first activity in an ALAS Leadership Development Program that scholars will participate in during their studies.
The people who participate in ALAS will enhance their skills, knowledge and networks in Australia and the region, equipping them for leadership roles in communities, businesses and governments.
The Australian Government, through AusAID, will offer around 3,200 Australian Leadership Awards over five years, providing long and short-term education and professional development opportunities for the region.
* Includes Indonesia, India, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Lao PDR, Vietnam, Tonga, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Mongolia, Papua New Guinea, China, Philippines, Fiji, Thailand, Kiribati, Maldives, Solomon Islands, Timor-Leste, Samoa (Western), Tonga, Cook Islands, Niue, Palau and Bhutan.