Human Rights Are Central to Australia’s Long-Term Interests

# Why rights matter to Australia World politics feels unsettled and many governments are treating international rules as optional. That shift makes human rights look unfashionable, even in Australia. Yet respect for rights remains urgently important for people facing repression across the region. Protests led by young people in countries such as Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India show the ongoing demand for rights and equality.

# What's changing in Australian priorities Australia has recently emphasized defense and security partnerships. Military and cyber threats are real, but focusing on defense alone leaves gaps. Foreign coercion increasingly targets civil society: exiled dissidents are intimidated, journalists are silenced, democratic institutions are corrupted, and surveillance technology is exported to repress populations. Those tactics cannot be countered solely by defense pacts.

# Practical policy shifts recommended Australia should integrate human rights into both foreign and domestic policy. Specific steps recommended in the reporting include:

• Establish an Asia Democracy Fund with other democratic countries to support independent journalists, human rights defenders, and civil society organizations—targeting those already endangered or in exile and groups unable to safely access funding.
• Create a special immigration pathway to provide safe haven for threatened rights defenders, similar to measures Canada uses.
• Back independent documentation of serious abuses and defend international justice institutions such as the International Criminal Court.
• Use universal jurisdiction in Australian courts to investigate and prosecute alleged international crimes when appropriate.
• Strengthen domestic laws to prevent importing goods made with forced labor and tighten privacy and technology regulation to curb abusive surveillance exports.

# Why these measures matter When democracies combine international advocacy with domestic laws that close safe havens for abusers, they create pressure points against repression. Supporting journalists and defenders protects the information flows and organizing capacity that underpin democratic movements. Upholding international justice signals that serious abuses will be investigated even if powerful states or alliances are fracturing.

# Regional context and urgency

# What this would look like in practice

• Fund protection and relocation programs for threatened journalists and defenders through a pooled fund for Asia.
• Pass legislation barring imports of goods produced with forced labor and strengthen privacy rules to limit the export of surveillance technology.
• Publicly defend the ICC and expand use of universal jurisdiction domestically so alleged perpetrators have fewer safe jurisdictions.

# Bottom line