Australia and the United Nations The primary objectives of the United Nations (UN), as laid down in its Charter, are to avoid the recurrence of violent conflicts, affirm fundamental human rights, guarantee respect for international law and improve living standards across the globe.

Australia as a Global Citizen Dr H.V. Evatt and Australia’s Foreign Policy Dr Evatt was Minister for External Affairs during the Chifley government. He was a very intelligent man and he believed:  That Australia had a role to play in international affairs  Australia needed to place greater emphasis on its own region of the world  Australia had a duty to support Asian countries that struggled  That Australia’s relations with Britain and the USA were important, but also needed to develop its own position on global affairs

Australia and Indonesia  After WWII Australia supported the right for Asian countries to Become independent  The Dutch still controlled Indonesia and Australia assisted Indonesia to work towards gaining its independence from Dutch colonisation  In December 1949 Indonesia celebrated their independence

Australian Support for the United Nations since 1945 Australia continues to play an active role in the UN and contributes in many ways:  Australia attends the annual session of the General Assembly  Australia has had a seat on the Security Council four times  Australia contributes money to the working of the UN  Australia works in many specialised agencies  Australia has contributed troops for peacekeeping missions

Australia and UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) is important because it promotes international cooperation through understanding different cultures. Australia was one of the 20 founding members, some projects they have contributed to include;  International Convention against Doping in Sport  Education on inter-faith and inter-cultural understanding  Support for conservation of World Heritage sites  Setting up an early warning tsunami centre  Support for Memory of the World (MOW) conserving important documents

Australia and East Timor  East Timor was ruled by Portugal for about 3 centuries. During World War II, thousands of East Timorese lost their lives helping Australia forces fight against the Japanese. East Timor was then invaded by Indonesia shortly after Portugal abruptly left, in East Timor East Timor  At that time, Indonesia had military, economic and political support from countries such as UK, USA and Australia, for various reasons including the oil and gas reserves, a strategic location, various trade and cheap labor related interests. supportinterestssupportinterests  200,000 people are said to have been killed since one third of the entire East Timorese population.

What Happened in East Timor?  August 1999 saw a vote on self determination in East Timor.  Leading up to this and after the vote where there was an overwhelming majority who voted for independence, Indonesian military-backed militia and paramilitaries went on a terror campaign with slow international reaction.  Much of East Timor was destroyed and at some points there were estimates from 200,000 to 300,000 refugees created with up to 600,000 people displaced.  East Timor is now an independent nation, officially. It is also in the process of rebuilding and recovering from the violence it has suffered.  Reports of other areas of Indonesia suffering similar rights violations are also emerging.