{"id":870562,"date":"2022-11-05T05:51:53","date_gmt":"2022-11-05T05:51:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/asiapacificreport.nz\/?p=80826"},"modified":"2022-11-05T05:51:53","modified_gmt":"2022-11-05T05:51:53","slug":"dealing-with-a-bloody-messy-world-the-urgent-foreign-policy-challenges-facing-nz","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2022\/11\/05\/dealing-with-a-bloody-messy-world-the-urgent-foreign-policy-challenges-facing-nz\/","title":{"rendered":"Dealing with a \u2018bloody messy\u2019 world \u2013 the urgent foreign policy challenges facing\u00a0NZ"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>ANALYSIS:<\/strong> <em>By <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/alexander-gillespie-721706\">Alexander Gillespie<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-waikato-781\">University of Waikato<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p>Since Jacinda Ardern described the state of world affairs as \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.1news.co.nz\/2022\/07\/07\/jacinda-ardern-says-the-world-is-bloody-messy-in-sydney-speech\/\">bloody messy<\/a>\u201d earlier this year there have been few, if any, signs of improvement. Ukraine, China, nuclear proliferation and the lasting impacts of a global pandemic all present urgent, unresolved challenges.<\/p>\n<p>For a small country in an increasingly lawless world this is both dangerous and confronting.<\/p>\n<p>Without the military or economic scale to influence events directly, New Zealand relies on its voice and ability to persuade.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/putin-plays-the-annexation-card-pushing-the-war-in-ukraine-into-a-dangerous-new-phase-191165\">READ MORE: <\/a><\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/putin-plays-the-annexation-card-pushing-the-war-in-ukraine-into-a-dangerous-new-phase-191165\">Putin plays the annexation card, pushing the war in Ukraine into a dangerous new phase<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/how-will-china-interact-with-the-world-over-the-next-5-years-xis-new-speech-holds-clues-192594\">How will China interact with the world over the next 5 years? Xi\u2019s new speech holds clues<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/nukes-allies-weapons-and-cost-4-big-questions-nzs-defence-review-must-address-188732\">Nukes, allies, weapons and cost: 4 big questions NZ&#8217;s defence review must address<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>But by placing its faith in a rules-based order and United Nations processes, New Zealand also has to work with &#8212; and sometimes around &#8212; highly imperfect systems. In some areas of international law and policy the machinery is failing. It\u2019s unclear what the next best step might be.<\/p>\n<p>Given these uncertainties, then, where has New Zealand done well on the international stage, and where might it need to find a louder voice or more constructive proposals?<\/p>\n<p><strong>Confronting Russia<br \/>\n<\/strong>Strength and clarity have been most evident in New Zealand\u2019s response to the Russian attack on Ukraine. There has been no hint of joining the <a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2022\/09\/1129102\">abstainers<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/news.un.org\/en\/story\/2022\/10\/1129492\">waverers<\/a> at crucial UN votes condemning Russia\u2019s actions.<\/p>\n<p>While it can be argued New Zealand could do more in terms of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.legislation.govt.nz\/act\/public\/2022\/0006\/latest\/whole.html\">sanctions<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.mfat.govt.nz\/en\/countries-and-regions\/europe\/ukraine\/russian-invasion-of-ukraine\">support<\/a> for the Ukrainian military, the government has made good use of the available international forums.<\/p>\n<p>Joining the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.beehive.govt.nz\/release\/nz-join-international-court-justice-case-against-russia\">International Court of Justice case<\/a> against \u201cRussia\u2019s spurious attempt to justify its invasion under international law\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nzherald.co.nz\/nz\/russia-ukraine-war-nz-supports-international-call-for-war-crimes-accountability\/IJLKMF24BBAWXRPIKUPLSNVEHU\/\">supporting the International Criminal Court<\/a> investigation into possible war crimes in Ukraine are both excellent initiatives.<\/p>\n<p>Unfortunately, similar avenues have been blocked when it comes to other critical issues New Zealand has a vested interest in seeing resolved properly.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">UN vote to ignore human rights abuses in China leaves west in dead end <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/mTWo4ETubU\">https:\/\/t.co\/mTWo4ETubU<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 The Guardian (@guardian) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/guardian\/status\/1578228794430836738?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">October 7, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>China and human rights<br \/>\n<\/strong>This has been especially apparent in the debate about human rights abuses in China, and allegations of genocide made by some countries over the treatment of Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand and some other countries correctly <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2021\/may\/04\/new-zealand-draws-back-from-calling-chinese-abuses-of-uyghurs-genocide\">avoided<\/a> using the word \u201cgenocide\u201d, which has a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.un.org\/en\/genocideprevention\/genocide.shtml\">precise legal meaning<\/a> best applied by UN experts, not domestic politicians. Instead, the government called on China to provide meaningful and unfettered access to UN and other independent observers.<\/p>\n<p>While not perfect, the visit went ahead. The eventual report by outgoing UN Human Rights Commissioner Michelle Bachelet concluded that China had committed <a href=\"https:\/\/s3.documentcloud.org\/documents\/22273382\/22-08-31-final-assesment_unhr.pdf\">serious human rights violations<\/a>, which could amount to crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n<p>This should have forced the international community to act. Instead, 19 countries voted with China to block a debate at the UN Human Rights Council (17 wanted the debate, 11 abstained). The upshot was that China succeeded in driving the issue into a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2022\/oct\/06\/un-vote-ignore-human-rights-abuses-china-leaves-west-dead-end\">diplomatic dead-end<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Allowing an organisation designed to protect victims to be controlled by alleged perpetrators isn\u2019t something New Zealand should accept. The government should make it a diplomatic priority to become a member of the council, and it should use every opportunity to speak out and keep the issue in the global spotlight.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Ardern&#8217;s Russia warning: New nuclear age dawns &#8211; countries want to start and win new nuclear war <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/ft03c2FAI5\">https:\/\/t.co\/ft03c2FAI5<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/DRoA4IDRFN\">pic.twitter.com\/DRoA4IDRFN<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 nzherald (@nzherald) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/nzherald\/status\/1573390368460210180?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 23, 2022<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><strong>Arms control<br \/>\n<\/strong>Elsewhere, New Zealand\u2019s foreign policy can arguably be found wanting &#8212; most evidently, perhaps, in the area of nuclear arms regulation.<\/p>\n<p>Advocating for the complete prohibition of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.rnz.co.nz\/news\/political\/475395\/new-zealand-s-strong-and-firm-stance-on-nuclear-weapons-more-important-than-ever-ardern\">all nuclear weapons<\/a>, as the prime minister did at the UN in September, might be inspiring and also good domestic politics, but it doesn\u2019t make the world safer.<\/p>\n<p>With the risk of nuclear conflagration at its <a href=\"https:\/\/www.cbsnews.com\/news\/biden-armageddon-nuclear-risk-cuban-missile-crisis-russia-tensions\/\">highest since the Cuban missile crisis<\/a>, a better immediate goal would be improving the regulation, rather than prohibition, of nuclear weapons. This would entail convincing nuclear states to take their weapons off \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.ucsusa.org\/sites\/default\/files\/attach\/2015\/05\/Hair-Trigger-Alert-Policy-Brief.pdf\">hair-trigger alert<\/a>\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>The other goals should be the adoption of a <a href=\"https:\/\/armscontrolcenter.org\/issues\/no-first-use\/\">no-first-use<\/a> policy by all nuclear powers (only <a href=\"https:\/\/carnegieendowment.org\/2021\/12\/21\/china-and-international-debate-on-no-first-use-of-nuclear-weapons-pub-86070\">China<\/a> has made such a commitment so far), and a push for regional arms control in the Indo-Pacific to rein in India, Pakistan and China.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Pandemic preparedness<br \/>\n<\/strong>Finally, there is the danger of vital law and policy not just failing, but not even being born. This is the case with the World Health Organisation\u2019s so-called \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.who.int\/news\/item\/01-12-2021-world-health-assembly-agrees-to-launch-process-to-develop-historic-global-accord-on-pandemic-prevention-preparedness-and-response\">pandemic treaty<\/a>\u201d, designed to better prevent, prepare for and respond to the next global pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>New Zealand set out some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.health.govt.nz\/system\/files\/documents\/pages\/new-zealand-submission-to-the-inb-april-2022.pdf\">admirable goals<\/a> in its submission in April, but these have been watered down or are missing from the first <a href=\"https:\/\/apps.who.int\/gb\/inb\/pdf_files\/inb2\/A_INB2_3-en.pdf\">working draft<\/a> of the proposed agreement.<\/p>\n<p>This shouldn\u2019t be accepted lightly given the lessons of the past two-and-a-half years. Transparency by governments, a precautionary approach and the meaningful involvement of non-state actors will be essential.<\/p>\n<p>Similarly, improved oversight of the 59 laboratories spread across 23 countries that work with the most dangerous pathogens is critical. Currently, only a <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/fifty-nine-labs-around-world-handle-the-deadliest-pathogens-only-a-quarter-score-high-on-safety-161777\">quarter of these labs<\/a> score highly on safety. The proposed treaty does little to demand the kind of <a href=\"https:\/\/iegbbr.org\/\">biosecurity protocols<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.iso.org\/standard\/71293.html\">robust regulatory systems<\/a> required to better protect present and future generations.<\/p>\n<p>As with the other urgent and difficult issues mentioned here, New Zealand\u2019s future is directly connected to what happens elsewhere in the world. The challenge now is to keep adapting to this changing global order while being an effective voice for reason and the rule of law.<!-- Below is The Conversation's page counter tag. Please DO NOT REMOVE. --><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" style=\"border: none !important; box-shadow: none !important; margin: 0 !important; max-height: 1px !important; max-width: 1px !important; min-height: 1px !important; min-width: 1px !important; opacity: 0 !important; outline: none !important; padding: 0 !important;\" src=\"https:\/\/counter.theconversation.com\/content\/192935\/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-basic\" alt=\"The Conversation\" width=\"1\" height=\"1\" \/><!-- End of code. If you don't see any code above, please get new code from the Advanced tab after you click the republish button. The page counter does not collect any personal data. More info: https:\/\/theconversation.com\/republishing-guidelines --><\/p>\n<p><em>Dr <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/profiles\/alexander-gillespie-721706\">Alexander Gillespie<\/a> is professor of law, <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/institutions\/university-of-waikato-781\">University of Waikato.<\/a>\u00a0This article is republished from <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/\">The Conversation<\/a> under a Creative Commons licence. Read the <a href=\"https:\/\/theconversation.com\/dealing-with-a-bloody-messy-world-the-urgent-foreign-policy-challenges-facing-nz-192935\">original article<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>ANALYSIS: By Alexander Gillespie, University of Waikato Since Jacinda Ardern described the state of world affairs as \u201cbloody messy\u201d earlier this year there have been few, if any, signs of improvement. Ukraine, China, nuclear proliferation and the lasting impacts of a global pandemic all present urgent, unresolved challenges. For a small country in an increasingly<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":400,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1410,441,190,108,606,5605,338,432,3153,5,288,365,387,6,7,3049,255,54227,33,12,14,30481,24,376,43770,596,34454,1,111,1641,166,1324],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870562"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/400"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=870562"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870562\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":870663,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/870562\/revisions\/870663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=870562"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=870562"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=870562"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}