- New ways forward
- This chapter focuses on areas where Australia can further develop its policies and strategies in relation to the rights of women and children internationally. Themes explored in this chapter include:
- Emphasising the importance of the rights of women and children by placing them at the heart of foreign policy, including an intersectional approach to the rights of women and children;
- Driving women’s empowerment to create and lead change in their local communities;
- Focusing on the protection of the rights of children;
- Supporting aid and development programs via improved data; and
- Future-proofing Australia’s foreign policy.
Placing women and children at the heart of foreign policy
4.2Submitters asserted that the rights of women and children should be at the heart of foreign policy. One suggested method of realising this goal was the formal adoption of a ‘feminist foreign policy’. Ms Michelle Higelin, Executive Director of ActionAid Australia (ActionAid), explained that a feminist foreign policy is reflective of a coordinated and coherent approach to matters involving gender equality and the rights of women across all foreign policy. Ms Higelin stated:
Taking a feminist approach encourages us to look at the issue of intersectional feminism, and that encourages us to look at the intersection of gender inequality with other forms of discrimination and prejudice, whether they be on the basis of disability, class, location, ethnicity, race or other forms.
4.3A foreign policy that emphasises the rights of women was argued to have a range of benefits, as expanded on by Ms Higelin:
With a feminist foreign policy we would see targeted, scaled-up interventions in what we see as gender transformative programming. This is really about getting at the heart of patriarchal norms, challenging unequal power relations, the widespread discrimination faced by women across multiple areas of society and really starting to tackle some of those harmful gender norms like violence against women and women's systematic exclusion from decision-making.
4.4She noted that an official feminist foreign policy would also ensure policy consistency across foreign aid, trade, and diplomatic relations, which currently she asserted was ‘some incoherence’. Ms Higelin expanded further on what this looked like from the perspective of non-government organisations engaging with Australian foreign policy, stating that ActionAid supports ‘decent work for women in the aid program, yet our trade agreements continue to undermine basic labour rights for women workers’.
4.5The International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA) similarly expressed strong support for Australia’s foreign policy to incorporate a feminist foreign policy. They observed that eleven nations had adopted a formal feminist foreign policy, including Canada, France, Spain, Germany and the Netherlands. It observed that foreign policy and international assistance programs emphasise ‘a focus on transforming the systems of power which underpin inequality and marginalisation’.
4.6Caritas Australia (Caritas) emphasised that Australia’s foreign policy and its new international development policy should prioritise ‘mainstreaming of gender equality outcomes’. Caritas expanded to assert that:
When women are empowered, their children are more likely to attend school and have better health outcomes. Evidence also shows that when women are included in decision-making, disaster preparedness and response initiatives as well as peacebuilding efforts are more likely to be durable and effective.
4.7The Australian Red Cross (Red Cross) similarly observed that foreign aid or disaster response policy should better address women and children’s needs, including the adoption of an intersectional policy which recognises the differing responses required for diverse groups. The Red Cross recommended that the Australian Government:
… increase its focus on strengthening implementation of the protections for women articulated in [international human rights law] to ensure that relevant disaster risk management laws are gender-sensitive and provide robust measures to prevent and address sexual and gender-based violence in emergencies and support other governments to do the same.
An intersectional approach to the rights of women and children
4.8As outlined in Chapter 2, an intersectional analysis of the rights of women and children requires the appreciation of the different life experiences and backgrounds of women, including elements which make them even more vulnerable to human rights abuses. Many submitters recommended the implementation of intersectionality assessments and analysis at all points of policy formulation and decision-making, including in international agreements and activities. This was argued to be a way of ensuring that the needs and rights of women and children are placed at the heart of foreign policy.
4.9The importance of recognising intersectionality in women and children was emphasised by a range of stakeholders. Intersectionality is defined as a lens which can enable ‘insight into how multiple characteristics such as gender and disability, age and gender insect to influence the experience of poverty’. This was expanded on by Ms Jane Munro, Protection, Gender and Inclusion Technical Lead in International Programs and Movement Relations, the Red Cross:
By applying an intersectional lens, what we mean is that it's important to consider the compounding impact of different diversity factors that will impact a person's experience of marginalisation or discrimination in a particular context. Those diversity factors are context specific, of course, but they can include things like gender identity, sexual orientation, migration status, ethnicity, disability, age, nationality, religion, social status, level of education. Not only [a] person's experience of gender but also a person's experience in a humanitarian crisis will be impacted by how those diversity factors are compounding in that particular context. It can impact a person's ability to access essential services, to remain safe in the response and to have a dignified support provided to them.
4.10Caritas similarly asserted that threats to the rights of women and children should be understood through an intersectional lens:
Addressing gender inequalities and protecting the rights of women and children must be done from a broader, inclusive and intersectional lens. This means taking into consideration the diversity of women and children’s experiences, and responding to their unique needs across varying contexts.
4.11Further, recognising the intersectional needs of women and children can identify how women and children ‘by virtue of [their] gender but also [their] age … can fall through the cracks or have very unique, distinct or specific needs’.For example, MsSusanne Legena, Chief Executive Officer of Plan International Australia (Plan), explained that in children’s programming, a focus on children as a homogenous cohort can result in girls’ needs being overlooked at the expense of boys’ needs, or vice versa.
4.12The Australian National University Law Reform and Social Justice Research Hub (ANU LRSJ Research Hub) pointed to specific examples domestically where an intersectional lens highlights the risks for women and children of different backgrounds. For example, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander women in Australia were said to be ‘34 times more likely to be hospitalised from violence and report three times as many incidents of sexual violence as non-Indigenous women’.
4.13The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) observed that disproportionate impacts on the rights of women and children in situations of crisis or conflict can be a result of ineffective considerations of intersectionality in policy responses. For instance, DFAT noted that responses to the COVID pandemic sometimes resulted in negative impacts disproportionately impacting women and children due to measures being ‘not gender-responsive or intersectional in their design and delivery’.
4.14The Red Cross stated that its international partners apply an intersectional framework when responding to crisis and humanitarian situations. This is governed by professional standards for protection work and protection, gender and inclusion minimum standards for all International Federation of Red Cross and Red Cresence Society actors. The Red Cross explained that it takes an intersectional approach in disaster preparedness work:
I encourage my colleagues working in Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to conduct analyses of their particular context, look at who might experience marginalisation and discrimination. As I say, that looks different in really different contexts. That could be migrants in that particular context. It could be people with particular health conditions. They then plan for how they will support those groups. We also encourage Red Cross and Red Crescent societies to form good working relationships with community service organisations like organisations for persons with disabilities, women's organisations, on the ground. So then once there is that disaster already happening and there's the heat and adrenaline of the response, those relationships are already formed, and people can be supported more directly.
Australian Government policy and action
4.15Since the commencement of this inquiry, there has been significant action by the Australian Government on the inclusion of gender considerations in foreign affairs policy. One of the key developments in this space was the publication of the Australian Government’s International Development Policy in August 2023. The International Development Policy, designed to outline Australia’s long-term strategic policies in relation to development and international engagement, indicated that gender will be a paramount consideration in Australia’s international outreach. The International Development Policy explained that the Australian Government is committed to ‘the rights and freedoms enshrined in the United Nations Charter’ and strives for ‘a world in which the rights of all people are upheld’. It also emphasised the importance of working with regional partners, addressing climate change, collective action in the face of disaster and change, and improving equity and equality for all, including within the Australian community and particularly First Nations Australians.
4.16In particular reference to gender equality, the International Development Policy stated:
Gender inequality compounds the most pressing global development challenges. No country can meet its development potential without ensuring all its people have every opportunity to reach their full potential. … Placing gender equality at the centre of development creates opportunities for people to thrive, making our countries stronger, more secure and more inclusive.
4.17The International Development Policy further explains that it is progressing or plans to implement the following actions in relation to gender equality:
- The development of a new international gender equality strategy, designed to ‘guide the breadth of Australia’s engagement, including how we integrate gender equality throughout our development partnerships and programs’; and
- Supporting programs which specifically address gender equality, particularly via the development programs.
- Ms Sarah Goulding, DFAT, advised that the new International Development Policy was the first update to the policy in almost a decade, explaining:
There is in fact a very important commitment that underlies the approach that this policy is taking to international development, which is to put gender equality and the human rights of women and girls and a human rights agenda at the heart of the work that we will do.
4.19DFAT has also reintroduced a performance target for all Official Development Assistance (ODA) grants which requires that at least 80 per cent of all grants effectively address gender equality in implementation. Further, all new ODA grants over $3 million are required to contain an objective regarding gender equality, measured by reporting to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). This requirement was supported by the findings of the recent Development Finance Review, which recommended that all new development finance investments be inclusive of a gender equality objective and be assessed under performance targeting frameworks for gender equality. Ms Sarah Goulding, Assistant Secretary of the Gender Equality Disability and Social Inclusion Branch at DFAT, explained the reasoning for this measure:
The rationale behind that is … if you don't address gender equality in a whole wide range of forums, whether it's in infrastructure development or it's in education or it's in health or it's in a humanitarian response, you are risking hardwiring discrimination and the perpetuation of the discriminatory social norms that enable gender based violence. That is a fundamental driver, why we want to ensure that within the aid program, in as many places as we can, that we are upholding and promoting gender equality and positive social norms around gender equality in the aid program.
4.20Another way in which Australia addresses gender in its foreign policy is via sanctions for human rights breaches. DFAT advised that the Australian Government utilises a range of approaches in managing human rights abuses against women and children, one of the most serious forms ones being sanctions. DFAT explained that Australia has two types of sanctions:
- An autonomous sanctions framework, which is applied by decision of the Australian Government; and
- A sanctions framework which works to implement sanctions applied by the United Nations Security Council in accordance with its obligations under the UN Charter.
- DFAT emphasised that sanctions are ‘not our only choice, and they will rarely be our first choice’; rather, it was part of a suite of options available to ensure that the Australian Government responded to human rights situations ‘based on what we assess will most effectively bring about change’. For example, the Australian Government has imposed human rights sanctions on individuals and entities involved in the oppression of women and girls in Iran, including asset freezes and travel bans.
- The Australian Government also addresses human rights issues in global forums and multilateral settings, such as co-sponsoring a United Nations Economic and Social Council resolution which removed Iran from the Commission on the Status of Women in December 2022. Australian representatives delivered a national statement and joined the statement of the Group of Friends on Women, Peace and Security at the UN Security Council Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security on 7 March 2023, emphasising the importance of inclusive and equitable global peace and security.
Changes for women, led by women
4.23Women remain significantly underrepresented in positions of leadership and decision-making across the world. Accordingly, many stakeholders emphasised that empowering women as community and political leaders can improve societal outcomes and foster change.
4.24Caritas reported that women comprise only 26 per cent of national parliamentarians across the world and 34 per cent of local government elected representatives. They observed that female leaders were reported to be highly prevalent at the household and community level, but that cultural norms and formal restrictions often prevented them from higher leadership positions.
4.25Women’s leadership was also highlighted by the Myanmar Campaign Network (MCN), who observed that female leaders have been ‘at the forefront’ of those fighting against the Myanmar Spring revolution. They observed that many female activists and leaders have faced negative impacts resulting form their efforts, including job loss, arrest, threats, and violence (including sexual violence).
4.26Caritas emphasised the importance of women’s leadership and participation in formulating and implementing change. They noted that many repressive regimes internationally had disempowered women and implemented discriminatory laws that robbed women and children of their human rights. Caritas argued that women’s involvement in broader society and leadership is essential to improved development outcomes, explaining that benefits included better educational and health outcomes for children, and more resilient initiatives and policies in peacebuilding efforts. Further, Caritas pointed to Tongan female leaders in the context of disaster management as proof of women’s leadership producing improved outcomes, including better mobilisation, more flexible adaptation to change, and better communication of information.
4.27Similarly, the Australian Council for International Development (ACFID) asserted that women’s leadership was critical to not only their empowerment and human rights, but the fundamental stability of societies and protection of everyone’s human rights:
Women across the globe play a critical leadership role in resisting conflict and building peace. When women are involved in peace process, the resulting agreements are more likely to endure. Decisions taken by diverse groups are more likely to reflect the needs of the people impacted, making these decisions better informed and more capable of delivering impactful results. Supporting women human rights defenders and women peacebuilders is critical to laying the foundations for peace and stability in fragile and conflict-affected states. Investing in women’s leadership across all areas of development, peace and security will lead to better development outcomes.
4.28ACFID urged the Australian Government to increase its efforts in implementing the Second Australian National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security 2021–2031 (NAP), asserting that full implementation would ‘ensure timely analysis and targeted strategies to advance women’s rights, peace and security through Australia’s response efforts’.
4.29The Centre for People, Place and Planet (CPPP) at Edith Cowan University recommended that Australian foreign policy emphasise women’s leadership at all points of decision-making processes, including inclusion of women and girls of all backgrounds in public policy forums and processes. They suggested three key areas in relation to climate change in particular where women’s leadership could be enhanced:
- Establishing quotas to ensure the inclusion of women’s movement representatives in all climate and development bodies at the local, national, regional and international levels.
- Committing to full implementation of the Gender Action Plan under the UNFCCC, recognizing the “full, meaningful and equal participation and leadership of women.”
- Appointing national gender climate change focal points (NGCCFPs) and supporting them by providing capacity development, tools and sufficient resources. This includes ensuring adequate time and finances to fulfill their respective responsibilities, including contributing to the UNFCCC Gender Action Plan; mainstreaming gender in all negotiation topics and NFCCC bodies; formulating, monitoring, implementing and evaluating national climate change policies, plans, strategies and actions, including nationally determined contributions, national adaptation plans and national communications.
- DFAT advised that it currently engages with a range of women’s groups in the Indo-Pacific region, in addition to other international jurisdictions, which focus on gender equity and cultural change. Examples of such programs include Pacific Women Lead, Amplify-Invest-Reach, and RiseUp!. Stakeholders applauded these programs, particularly those focused on women’s leadership programs in the Indo-Pacific.
Working with local and community organisations
4.31Ensuring that solutions and community work is led by local actors was highlighted as a critical feature of future foreign policy practice. A number of stakeholders urged that Australian foreign policy and overseas projects be inclusive of the local community, particularly in relation to project or policy design and delivery. In the context of crisis or emergency situations in particular, a locally-led approach was argued to be critical, as local communities ‘are best placed to have the capacity and the skills and the funding that they need to then respond in the immediate aftermath of an emergency’.
4.32The Red Cross emphasised that the principle of localisation is recognised as an effective tool in development and also in responding to crises, providing examples from its work internationally:
To illustrate that with the example of Fiji, Fiji Red Cross is one of our priority contexts that we work with. Over the long period of our partnership with them, we've worked on supporting them to be prepared. I will have regular calls with my counterpart, who's the lead for the Fiji Red Cross on this work. I talk to her about what challenges she's experiencing in her work, what training she's conducting, how she might be able to adapt that to make sure that she is capturing all the people who might be impacted in a particular disaster in Fiji. She is on the ground forming relationships with other actors in Suva, UN organisations and also local community organisations who can provide that specialised support to people who have different needs, like people of diverse sexual orientations and gender identities, like children. For example, she is working in partnership with UNICEF on the ground in Fiji at the moment to look at a really dedicated support for children in disaster response in Fiji.
4.33Stakeholders suggested that one form of response to addressing the rights of women and children is via a human rights-based approach. The United Nations defines a human rights-based approach as:
… a conceptual framework for the process of human development that is normatively based on international human rights standards and operationally directed to promoting and protecting human rights. It seeks to analyse inequalities which lie at the heart of development problems and redress discriminatory practices and unjust distributions of power that impede development progress.
4.34The Centre for People, Place and Planet, Edith Cowan University (the CPPP) explained that a human rights-based approach takes into consideration the human impact of crises such as climate change, including disproportionate impact on different groups and the obligations on certain actors to respond.
4.35The CPPP illustrated the effectiveness of this approach with reference to the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD) which was described as ‘empowering women and advocating for climate justice using a rights-based approach’. This was achieved by promoting women’s rights:
… by supporting autonomous feminist movements through capacity building; producing new knowledge, tools, and resources; undertaking impactful advocacy; and strengthening the movements’ architecture.
4.36Resulting from this approach, the CPPP reported that the APWLD’s rights-based approach when applied to work with grassroots women’s rights organisations to educate about the gendered impacts of climate change had enabled participants to:
- Increase their understanding of their human rights, patriarchy, climate change, and climate and development justice;
- Gain skills and confidence in leadership, advocacy, campaigning, public speaking, negotiation and decision-making skills;
- Document local experiences of climate injustice;
- Engage in climate-related decision-making at local and district levels; and
- Strengthen organisations, alliances, local governments, and communities through capacity building, networking and increasing women’s confidence.
- Despite these positives, the CDPP noted that structural and systemic issues remained as significant barriers for women engaging in collective action on climate action. These included the challenges of women’s limited capacity to engage with social movements in addition to their unpaid domestic work commitments, men’s unwillingness to involve women in decision-making processes, and – more seriously – safety and security risks for women involved in social action.
- The CPPP recommended the urgent adoption of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) Gender Action Plan by the Australian Government, including the Lima work programme. The Gender Action Plan nominates five priority areas which aim to:
advance knowledge and understanding of gender-responsive climate action and its coherent mainstreaming in the implementation of the UNFCCC … as well as women’s full, equal and meaningful participation in the UNFCCC process.
4.39Similarly, the Red Cross put the view that foreign policy must reflect the lived experience of local communities, and empower them to make change. The Red Cross highlighted that providing people with first-hand experience with agency enables them to ‘advocate for themselves, to contribute to and connect with the larger society in which they live and receive affirmation that their expertise has been listened to, understood, and valued’. They also highlighted that the incorporation of local people with lived experience can result in the reflection of a diversity of views and backgrounds, which naturally results in an intersectional approach. Accordingly, Red Cross recommended that the Australian Government:
… support a localised approach to protection in humanitarian response that seeks to endorse the role of local actors, with complementary support from international actors, to strengthen capacity and contextualise standards.
4.40Caritas similarly argued that locally-led solutions are best suited to addressing gender inequity and structural disadvantage. It provided an example from Timor Leste, where it had assisted local communities via supporting partner organisations to address social attitudes on gender-based violence:
Caritas Australia supports 13 local partners across four municipalities of Timor Leste to protect the dignity, safety and access to services for those most vulnerable to experiencing gender-based violence. As well as providing shelters and other support services for women and children survivors of violence, our local partners also work in the area of prevention and social behaviour change. They engage youth, church actors, and high school students in conversations and training around topics such as early marriage, healthy relationships and conflict management as well as ‘unpacking the social construct of masculinity and how it contributes to power structures and dynamics in our society today. As part of this intervention, there are men’s groups that meet regularly to discuss domestic violence in their community and develop strategies they view to be locally appropriate and relevant to create peaceful homes and harmonious families. These groups of men are influencers who advocate to other men in their communities to put an end to violence’.
4.41Caritas emphasised the importance of local communities, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the role they play in realising the rights of women and children. Programs like the Pacific Woman Lead and the Pacific Church Partnership Program were highlighted, and it was emphasised that in many communities the programs that are most successful and sustainable are those that are led by local communities themselves, where decisions are made by those closest to and most affected by the issues.
The rights of children
4.42While children are among the most vulnerable to human rights abuses, they often fall through the gaps in foreign policy and response efforts. ACFID stated that children were at higher risk of exploitation and abuse, while having less involvement in decision-making processes that affect their interests.
4.43Children’s rights were said to be at risk in a variety of contexts. This section focuses on three particular issues:
- Violence against children, including in domestic settings and in conflict zones;
- Access to education, particularly for girls; and
- Addressing children’s rights and empowering children to participate in decision-making processes.
Violence against children
4.44Stakeholders asserted that children’s rights and wellbeing are impacted by violence perpetrated against them. Save the Children Australia (Save the Children) argued that violence against children is a violation of a child’s right to live in safety, and can impact on access to education, compromise their physical and mental health, and limit their opportunities.
4.45Violence against children was argued to be particularly prevalent. ACFID argued that levels of violence against children in the Indo-Pacific are at ‘endemic levels’ which constituted a significant violation of their rights. ACFID explained the importance of addressing violence against children:
Healthy and happy children, who live free from violence, are more likely to become educated, healthy and functional adults ready to participate in and contribute to their communities. Upholding children’s rights to live free from violence will not only protect children now but will set them up for fulfilling lives in adulthood and support long-term resilience and stability across communities, as well as our region.
4.46While significant attention is paid to the human rights of girls, boys also face unique challenges and risks in relation to their human rights. MsSusanne Legena, Chief Executive Officer of Plan International Australia (Plan), noted the particular vulnerability of boys in the context of armed conflicts, where they can be forced into being enlisted as child soldiers. MsLegena also observed that gender-inclusive language in relation to violence and gender equality recognises that boys also are at risk:
This is where I would say that the focus on gender equality is really powerful, because when we say gender equality we're not saying just girls. We actually saying yes, there are contexts where boys can also be, and in fact often are, victims of very rigid gender stereotypes which actually harm them too. So by that focus on a broader notion of gender equality, we don't just mean a focus on women and girls. We mean a focus on those power dynamics and those stereotypes and the kind of relationships that exist that would allow everybody to be able to be safe and healthy and to be able to thrive.
4.47Save the Children argued that donor expenditure on ending violence against children remains insufficient:
In recognition of the close relationship between violence against women and violence against children, Australia should seek to strengthen linkages between frontline services and violence prevention programs. This should include applying a child rights and child protection lens to the planning, design, implementation and evaluation of gender-based violence and family violence programs to ensure that shared risk factors are understood and addressed.
Education
4.48The importance of access to education as a right and a tool for change was emphasised by stakeholders. Plan asserted that education is an investment that improves the intergenerational wellbeing of communities and can lift families out of poverty. However, the impact of climate-related disasters, COVID, food insecurity and armed conflict on the education of adolescent girls, poses a threat to achieving gender equality. Plan further explained:
Disasters and emergencies, including extreme weather events, are increasingly putting children’s right to education at risk through severe and repeated disruptions to education services, which impact children’s learning, and through physical collapse and destruction of education infrastructure – which has killed tens of thousands of children.
4.49Similarly, DFAT submitted that during the pandemic school related closures led to a higher rate of school drop-out for girls than boys, noting this was linked to ‘pre-existing discriminatory gender norms’. DFAT further observed that ‘the gender digital divide and technology-facilitated gender-based violence hindered and prevented girls from continuing their education online’.
4.50In addition to these factors, access to education was also said to be restricted in times of conflict. For example, women and girls’ rights to education were significantly hampered in Afghanistan after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. Protests by women and girls in Afghanistan against their exclusion from formal education and employment were met with violence in a move to further enforce measures that ‘restrict women’s movement, activities and dress.’
Protecting and empowering children
4.51Given that children are among the most vulnerable groups in the international community, many stakeholders argued that they require specific consideration and protection in foreign policy considerations.
4.52It was argued that Australia’s new International Development Policy (IDP) is a promising move in the right direction, with a commitment to tackling poverty, inequality and climate change. Some stakeholders like Save the Children have however expressed the desire for the Australian government to invest in specific strategies for children and young people which promotes their rights. Mr Aram Hosie, Group Executive Director, Strategy and Public Affairs at Save the Children remarked that:
We think that child protection needs to be prioritised in the development of national development plans. We want to see the integration of child rights as a key element of the Civil Society Partnerships Fund. We would like to see the Australian government commit to building climate resilience in our region by engaging with climate finance mechanisms, including replenishing the Green Climate Fund and community based damage and loss funding. Throughout all of this, we would like to see a human rights approach to the development of a humanitarian strategy in ensuring that there is adequate funding to address the child rights issues in conflict zones.
4.53A suggested method of addressing these concerns was the creation and adoption of a specific international strategy aimed at children, similar to the Australia’s Gender Development Policy. ACFID stated that the Australian Government should develop:
… a targeted strategy to be a priority for the Australian Government. Setting out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children, this strategy should be in line with the international Convention on the Rights of the Child. It must intentionally consider children in the design and delivery of development and humanitarian projects, including education system strengthening targeted at children and young people, health interventions, protection programs, and community-based social protection.
4.54ACFID also recommended that 80 per cent of humanitarian and development investments should effectively support and protect children, regardless of their primary objective.
4.55Save the Children maintained that children are disproportionately threatened now and in the future with regards to climate change. Despite this they are excluded from and overlooked in decision making, observing that ‘children were only directly mentioned in 20% of all Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) developed after the introduction of the Paris Agreement’.
Future-proofing Australia’s foreign policy
4.56Stakeholders noted that gender equality outcomes should be a priority in Australia’s foreign policy, with others stating the need for the International Development Policy to be comprehensive, intersectional and cross-sectoral. Stakeholders strongly recommended that increased support for humanitarian aid and assistance programs should be a priority in addressing future challenges. ACFID explained that:
In terms of humanitarian need, compounding, complex, and long-lasting crises have become the new normal. The underlying vulnerabilities and causes of humanitarian crises are being exacerbated. According to the UN Humanitarian Needs Overview (HNO), the number of people in need of humanitarian assistance rose by 70 per cent in the four years between 2018 and 2021 – from 122 million people to 218 million people. There is an urgent need for Australia to reinvigorate its focus on humanitarian action, principles and capabilities so that we are fit to deal with future challenges.
4.57The Red Cross similarly observed that there will be increased demands on humanitarian assistance in future as natural disasters become more frequent and conflict arises. In anticipating future challenges in Australia’s foreign policy, they recommended the need for:
- Increased focus on pre-disaster resilience building;
- Intentional improvement of the social infrastructure, in addition to hard disaster risk reduction measures,
- Increased resourcing for community-led initiatives; and
- Reduction of systems that duplicate services, drive competition over collaboration and retraumatise people by making them tell their stories over and over.
- Caritas argued that Australia’s International Development Policy needed to recognise the role of local communities and the CSOs that provide support to them as key stakeholders in confronting inequality and violence.
- Australia’s newly released International Development Policy is reflective of the dynamic strategic environment, emphasising the importance of the Indo-Pacific region as key to securing stability. The Development Finance Review, released alongside the International Development Policy, also indicated that the Pacific region requires substantial and urgent investment for climate-resilient infrastructure which are fit for purpose and affordable for developing economies.
Fostering change through data
4.60Data was highlighted as a central component in addressing inequality. The reliance on data to identify the scope of issues in addition to measuring progress was highlighted by the United Nations in its most recent report on the Sustainable Development Goals. It explained that while there have been improvements in the collection of data in recent years, there are still significant gaps:
While these achievements are worthy of celebration, we cannot ignore the persistent gaps that still challenge our data landscape. Geographic coverage, timeliness, and disaggregation remain areas of concern. For several crosscutting goals such as climate action (Goal 13), gender equality (Goal 5), and peace, justice, and strong institutions (Goal 16), less than half of the 193 countries or areas have internationally comparable data since 2015. This stark reality serves as a reminder that we must prioritize gathering essential information on these critical issues that profoundly impact our future and our planet. Furthermore, a significant challenge lies in the timeliness of data, with less than 30 per cent of the latest available data from 2022 and 2023, while over half of the latest data comes from 2020 and 2021. As we embark on delivering a rescue plan for people and planet at the SDG Summit, accelerated action for data is imperative.
4.61The importance of data collection was highlighted by a range of stakeholders. For example, the Red Cross pointed to the use of data to respond to a disaster in the case of the Timor-Leste Red Cross’s (Cruz Vermelha de Timor-Leste or CVTL) response to Cyclone Seroja in 2021. The aim of the disaster response was to provide emergency food, water and sanitation but during the response staff identified issues that were not being addressed. CVTL collected disaggregated data based on sex, age and disability during their response. This allowed the organisation to identify needs of particular groups including people with disabilities and pregnant women, which then allowed for the response work to be adapted to cater to these needs.
4.62IWDA asserted that the circumstances of women are made invisible through data, which continues to be a barrier to human rights for women and girls. The way that data is collected and measured with relation to poverty, makes it difficult to disaggregate. It is argued that:
As the world moves increasingly towards data-driven decision-making, important types of data - including data on poverty and inequality - hides, rather than illuminates the gendered nature of the experience…. Data that hides the circumstances of individuals is both a denial of rights in the first place and a constraint on the realisation of rights, because it renders some rights holders invisible to duty-bearers. Household level measurement of poverty, that by design hides the circumstances of people by gender should not be considered a sufficient basis for decision on policy, programs or resource allocations.
4.63ReThink recommended that data be used to drive a whole-of-government approach to orphanage trafficking and voluntourism. They stressed that research should be used to inform this approach and to ‘monitor the implementation and effectiveness of strategies. Further, ReThink recommended that:
Australia should develop a baseline understanding of the scope and scale of involvement in orphanage volunteering and tourism, including through:
- Determining the scale of involvement across sectors through data collection and data mining.
- Ensuring data collection mechanisms are in place to regularly gather monitoring data and evaluate the effectiveness of measures including compliance with regulations.
- The former Ambassador for Women and Girls, MsChristine ClarkeCSC, highlighted the use of the Murad Code (otherwise known as the Global Code of Conduct for Gathering and Using Information about Systematic and Conflict-Related Sexual Violence) as ‘victim centred data collection’, used in the collection of evidence from victims. The aim of the MURAD is to collect data according to specific and rigorous requirements in the first instance, so that victims are not retraumatised in retelling their story multiple times to different parties. Ms Sarah Goulding emphasised that the Murad Code was not a formal international agreement but rather outlines good practice and guidelines. The Murad Code is supported by a number of international agencies and by DFAT.
- DFAT indicated that the new International Development Policy is committed to ensuring that aid is subject to performance targeting on how well it promotes gender equality. Representatives noted that the new performance framework attached to the development policy:
…outlines a range of ways where we will track the trajectory of the region, which includes markers for progress on gender equality. It also includes measures of the outcomes of the assistance that we do, and we do have a new indicator in there that we will report on about how much support we will be providing to women's rights organisations. We will also report on how many women receive support for business development opportunities, as well as reporting on the number of people who receive support for gender based violence counselling.
Committee comment
4.66The Committee recognises that there are two key issues that dominate in foreign policy settings today: recovering from the lack of or reversal of progress in advancing human rights due to COVID and other international disruptors, and the emerging changes and threats posed by climate change and conflict. This is true of all areas of foreign policy, but the trend is particularly pronounced when examining the lives and rights of women and children.
4.67In relation to the first point, it is clear that the pandemic had a significant detrimental impact on the rights of women and children. This is due to two factors: the nature of COVID-related public health restrictions and consequential impacts on social and economic conditions, and wavering commitment on the part of many nation-states to continue the pursuit of universal human rights. Australia must lead the world to ‘get back on track’ in progressing human rights as a national and international priority.
4.68As this inquiry has progressed, the Australian Government has taken steps to reframe foreign policy to address the perspectives of women in particular. Accordingly, the Committee recognises that these changes are yet to be fully understood in terms of their impact. However, further action can be taken to fully embrace Australia’s role as a world leader in addressing the rights of women and children.
4.69The Committee agrees that a modern foreign policy must acknowledge and incorporate the views and first-hand experiences of local people. Further, it supports the view that solutions are best found by local communities, rather than imposed by foreign entities. The Committee is conscious that Australia has a role to play in assisting its international partners by sharing knowledge and skills, in addition to ensuring value for money in overseas investments. Peace and security in our region is best promoted via working together on mutually beneficial outcomes and achievements, particularly when supporting the most vulnerable members of our region.
4.70The Committee identified two areas of importance in this space which require attention in Australia’s foreign policy: engagement during disaster or times of instability or conflict, and the need for data. Recognising the tumultuous nature of the geostrategic environment, and noting the need for a future-proof foreign policy, the Committee is of the view that these areas should be high priority for policy development and international engagement.
4.71While much attention was paid in the inquiry to the rights of women, the Committee observed that children have limited policy specifically addressed at their needs, or mechanisms in which to have their voices heard. Given the issues raised which often see children being targeted, such as orphanage trafficking, violence against children, and child marriage, this appears to be a significant gap that should be rectified. The Committee is of the view that children should have a specific engagement policy in Australia’s foreign affairs space, which details not only how Australian officials engage with children in international jurisdictions, but how Australian foreign policy enhances the rights of children and also provides children with avenues in which they can be empowered to be involved in decisions that impact them.
4.72The Committee recommends the Australian Government continue to use international forums, including bilateral platforms and interparliamentary networks, to emphasise the need to strengthen laws and protections regarding the human rights of women and children in conflict and crisis situations. This should include an emphasis on developing and strengthening responses to issues such as sexual and gender-based violence, children in exploitative environments and industries, and modern slavery.
4.73The Committee recommends the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) ensure that all activities concerning humanitarian, crisis or disaster responses involving DFAT-funded or -supported entities be:
- Assessed upon application on the basis of local engagement with the community, including the requirement of a statement by the applicant on the basis of local engagement, particularly emphasising gender diversity and considerations of the needs of children;
- Monitored at appropriate intervals to determine outcomes and impact; and
- Reported to the Parliament as part of the DFAT annual report.
4.74The Committee recommends that the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade allocate a specific portion of Official Development Assistance funding to projects relating to data collection on issues affecting women and children.
4.75The Committee recommends that the Australian Government develop an International Children’s Development Strategy which outlines:
- Australia’s commitment to upholding the rights of children internationally;
- Reflect commitments made via international legislation and agreements, including the Sustainable Development Goals;
- Identify mechanisms and approaches in which it can support neighbours and partners in enhancing their international law obligations and promote the rights of children in local and regional settings; and
- Provide mechanisms in which children can be involved in policy development on matters which affect their interests, lives and rights.
Ms Maria Vamvakinou MP
ChairHuman Rights Subcommittee
29 November 2023
Hon Shayne Neumann MP
ChairJoint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade
29 November 2023