25 Jul 2022
Why India needs a refugee law
Adopting international standards will not only benefit people
seeking asylum but India’s relations in the neighbourhood.
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31 May 2022
Multilateralism matters again
The world’s big challenges – and main priorities for Australia – are best tackled by cooperation. -
22 Apr 2022
Even Putin is not beyond the law
International and domestic justice systems are working in the background to bring accountability in the war on Ukraine. -
6 Apr 2022
The mysterious missing UN report on human rights abuses in Xinjiang
Months of stalling over the release of a long-completed investigation raises suspicions about China’s pressure tactics. -
14 Mar 2022
Sustainable catch: navigating global fisheries crime
For a problem as wide as the ocean, many factors compound the challenge of protecting fish stocks. -
8 Mar 2022
Young feminist leadership is the future of peacebuilding
Feminist leadership coupled with the UN’s Youth, Peace and Security agenda envisions a more just and inclusive peace. -
8 Mar 2022
Sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping: Connecting the dots
The abuse of women and children must be urgently addressed as a key issue in the hierarchy of harm. -
7 Mar 2022
The hypocrisy of Russia’s push for a new global cybercrime treaty
The same Russia in the middle of invading a neighbour is preaching respect for state sovereignty online. -
4 Mar 2022
Ukraine: Don’t write off the international order – read and rewrite it
Resistance to Russia’s aggression is being shaped by how decentralised and data-centric global rules have become. -
25 Feb 2022
Why was it left to Kenya to speak up for multilateralism?
Kenya’s UN envoy Martin Kimani was a sensation at an emergency Security Council session—with a message for all nations. -
23 Feb 2022
It’s a mistake to allow Myanmar’s junta to appear in Rohingya case
Accepting military representatives in the genocide defence serves to lend the coup an undeserved legitimacy. -
1 Feb 2022
Oslo talks expose the West’s Taliban dilemma
Trusting the fundamentalists to deliver aid would mean ignoring a record of past promises to respect rights. -
13 Jan 2022
Peace and security are not the same thing
Adding counter-terrorism tasks to UN peacekeeping mandates will likely make an already difficult job much harder. -
2 Dec 2021
Honouring the dead on the path to Korean peace
Recovering troop remains and negotiating denuclearisation are vital to end-of-war declarations on the Korean peninsula. -
23 Nov 2021
Glasgow delivered, but what, exactly?
Not a miracle, certainly. But hard and messy negotiations secured a commitment to bring the temperature down. -
13 Oct 2021
Zooming out of digital diplomacy
It’s time to think beyond the videoconference to allow countries to trust again. -
10 Aug 2021
The battle for Myanmar’s seat in the UN General Assembly
An empty chair in New York would be a potent reflection of the situation on the ground in post-coup Myanmar. -
2 Jun 2021
R2P: An idea whose time never comes
The doctrine of the Responsibility to Protect was meant to stop atrocities. Instead, it has become another empty mantra. -
2 Jun 2021
Troubled waters? Australia-Indonesia maritime boundary in the news
It would not be a good example for the region should Canberra and Jakarta be unable to resolve “technical amendments”. -
29 Apr 2021
Response to Myanmar coup shows need for UN reform
Veto power on the Security Council too often obstructs action in the face of atrocities. Here are some ways around it. -
15 Apr 2021
Thailand’s sweeping associations law courts disaster
Draft legislation to strictly control all kinds of groups could crush civil society and drive out foreign organisations. -
15 Feb 2021
The power of example: America’s presence in Diego Garcia
US claims to upholding the rules-based order don’t square with its silence on Mauritian sovereignty in the Chagos. -
3 Feb 2021
A “beggar-thy-neighbour” approach keeps seafarers stranded
Some countries have banned crew rotations. Some have tight limits. A few are open. So a crisis continues. -
28 Jan 2021
Australia in focus at the UN Human Rights Council
Despite Australia’s history of support for human rights, a formal review offers a serious reality check. -
15 Dec 2020
Bringing space law into the 21st century
The international agreements around outer space, which date to the Cold War, are being tested by new space activity. -
7 Dec 2020
Solve generational problems by listening to the youth who’ll live them
Developing the Youth, Peace and Security agenda in the Asia-Pacific is a chance to ensure lasting change. -
10 Nov 2020
A chance for the US to change its tune on justice
Will American hostility to the International Criminal Court, and exception from it, shift under a Biden administration? -
5 Nov 2020
A backlash against the Women, Peace and Security agenda?
Power politics overshadow progress at the UN Security Council as Resolution 1325 celebrates its 20th anniversary. -
3 Nov 2020
Peace Prize to WFP: A win for international cooperation
The success of the World Food Program shows the global system can work with good leadership and strong support. -
2 Nov 2020
But what does “rules-based order” mean?
For Australia to shape the future order, it will have to get more specific about what it wants. -
2 Nov 2020
Nuclear Ban Treaty: Wishful thinking over realism
Lacking enforcement mechanisms or a practical path to elimination, the treaty has little chance of being effective. -
21 Oct 2020
Diplomacy after Covid: No looking back
This will not be the last year the world gathers in a virtual meeting – just think beyond Zoom as the platform. -
9 Oct 2020
China’s vision of sovereignty for the next world order
Beijing’s attitude is clearly one that says big countries matter more than small or middle-size ones. -
2 Sep 2020
Indonesia’s UN Security Council drive for inclusive peace and security
Jakarta is seeking to boost its regional leadership taking up the issue of women’s roles in peacebuilding. -
28 Aug 2020
A diplomatic breakdown over “snapback” tests the UN
Dispute over a US call for pre-2015 Iran sanctions has pushed the Security Council to its limit. It’s been there before. -
14 Aug 2020
Diego Garcia: The US has a clear choice
The Mauritian ambassador to the UN on recognising the country’s sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. -
12 Aug 2020
China is overturning the rules-based order from within
By contesting basic principles of international law, China is doing far more damage than is often recognised. -
28 Jul 2020
UN report on US killing of Iranian commander misses the mark
The drone strike on Qasem Soleimani was unlawful, the report finds, but weak analysis undercuts its conclusion. -
17 Jul 2020
The obstacles to Syrian aid
Russia and China have used the Security Council to squelch cross-border humanitarian assistance. It’s time for options. -
30 Jun 2020
Chequebook diplomacy in the Pacific: Not just the big fish
Small donors seeking UN Security Council seats are providing more aid to Pacific nations. -
30 Jun 2020
International law takes a step towards Asia
With Singapore a venue for the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, will more Asian countries use it? -
26 Jun 2020
Finding compromise in the Chagos Islands saga
The US base on Diego Garcia needn’t be an obstacle to a negotiated settlement of a longstanding sovereignty dispute. -
23 Jun 2020
The goals for Australia to do better
The Sustainable Development Goals are not only for poor nations – they offer a policy roadmap for Australia, too. -
23 Jun 2020
Woe Canada, a second consecutive UN rebuff
Even in a social media age, substance trumps style. There are lessons for Canberra in Ottawa’s Security Council failure. -
17 Jun 2020
ASEAN Summit: A chance to engage on the Rohingya crisis
The regional body has been notably silent on genocide in Myanmar, ducking behind the myth of non-interference. -
10 Jun 2020
In Yemen, a deadly concoction of arms sales, conflict and Covid-19
Without a ceasefire, a humanitarian catastrophe fuelled by Western arms shipments is about to get much worse. -
3 Jun 2020
US break with WHO: Where does it leave the rest of the world?
Honest assessment of the Covid-19 response will require cooperation from all member states. There is no alternative. -
19 May 2020
Diego Garcia: An American perspective
A bid by Mauritius to claim the Chagos Archipelago puts the future of the base in question. Does the US have an answer? -
18 May 2020
Covid-19 is not the biggest threat to UN peacekeeping
Sexual misconduct undermines the fundamental goals of peacekeeping operations. Why does it persist? -
24 Apr 2020
COVIDcast Episode 8: Covid-19 and the World Health Organisation
The latest episode in a podcast to discuss the implications of coronavirus for Australia, the region, and the world.