Australia launches bid for UN Security Council seat

The foreign minister, who is in New York for United Nations meetings, said that Australia served with distinction when it last held a non-permanent seat on the Security Council from 2013-14, “most noticeably through our advocacy of the downing of MH17”.

Ms Bishop has set out her government’s reasons for the timing: there is only one applicant for the slot to date (Finland), so the seat is more likely to be uncontested; the length of time means that the costs of the bid can be apportioned across the span and absorbed in the normal operations of the Department of Foreign Affairs. Abbott condemned then-PM Julia Gillard in 2012 for wandering around New York and talking to Africans about bidding for the seat in Security Council, instead of visiting Jakarta to discuss border protection policies.

Professor Triggs said while Australia’s overall record should justify a position on the council, the country’s treatment of asylum seekers was a major matter of concern. “But it was never worth the $40m-plus that this government has spent just to win a bronze medal at the United Nations”. “We championed initiatives that directly supported our national security interests, taking the lead on a number of landmark resolutions”, Ms Bishop said in a statement.

The United Nations Security Council includes 10 non-permanent members, with five elected each year.

“Australia chaired the al-Qaida, Taliban and Iran sanctions committees and coordinated the council’s work on Afghanistan”. Da’esh is the government’s preferred term for Islamic State.

While Labor’s Foreign Affairs spokeswoman Tanya Plibersek welcomed the move, she pointed out Ms Bishop’s opposition to their own campaign for a seat.

In an article supporting our last Security Council bid, Michael Fullilove argued that ‘the principal reason that Australia is right to run is that the Security Council is the world’s pre-eminent crisis management forum.’ It is the only worldwide body that can make a decision to authorise the use of force. “Labor has always been a supporter of a multilateral approach”, she told the ABC.

Australia is also a first time candidate for the Human Rights Council for the term 2018-20.

“We are an global leader in advancing the rights of women and girls, strengthening governance and democratic institutions, and promoting freedom of expression”, she said. “The question is going to be where are the votes going to go at the Human Rights Council, will they say Australia shouldn’t be a part of that council in the current context?” she said.