UN General Assembly
2016

It is this maturity and honesty that Australia would bring to the Human Rights Council should we be elected for our first-ever term, from 2018 to 2020. Rather than denying problems, we will seek to identify them, address them and learn from them. And we will hold others to the same standard as we hold ourselves. Australia has prioritized five key areas in our approach to human rights: gender equality, governance, freedom of expression, the rights of indigenous peoples, and strong national human rights institutions and capacity-building. We are committed to providing principled and pragmatic leadership across these five areas — both through our actions at home and our advocacy and cooperation abroad. Over the course of the next decade and beyond, working together to combat terrorism and conflict, prevent global health pandemics, ensure universal access to clean water and sanitation, and address climate change will require enhanced global cooperation.