Australian government

A. Task This should be written in" rel="nofollow">in the form of a briefin" rel="nofollow">ing to the Australian government for a UN conference convened to determin" rel="nofollow">ine a response to, or review progress made on, specific goals agreed by the United Nations, or specific reviews mandated by UN Commissions, or the report and recommendations of a major high-level in" rel="nofollow">international commission or panel. With the approval of the Subject Coordin" rel="nofollow">inator or Semin" rel="nofollow">inar Assistant the briefin" rel="nofollow">ing may be on one or more parts of such a report rather than the whole of it. A choice may be made for this purpose from one of the followin" rel="nofollow">ing commissions, panels, UN bodies or UN Goals: 1. Analysis of and progress made in" rel="nofollow">in achievin" rel="nofollow">ing the Sustain" rel="nofollow">inable Development Goals (SDGs), agreed by a United Nations Summit in" rel="nofollow">in 2015 (select one to three of the seventeen agreed goals.) See:https://www.undp.org/content/undp/en/home/librarypage/corporate/sustain" rel="nofollow">inable-development-goals-booklet.html .You will be expected to research in" rel="nofollow">input in" rel="nofollow">into and the debate to establish the SDGs as this will help frame your briefin" rel="nofollow">ing. Useful background can be found by consultin" rel="nofollow">ing A New Global Partnership: Eradicate Poverty and Transform Economies Through Sustain" rel="nofollow">inable Development, 2013 at https://www.un.org/en/development/desa/policy/untaskteam_undf/HLP%20P2015%20Report.pdf, by the High-Level Panel of Emin" rel="nofollow">inent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda. The 2016 Progress report is at https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/report/2016/The Sustain" rel="nofollow">inable Development Goals Report 2016.pdf 2. The United Nations Human Rights Council conducts a rollin" rel="nofollow">ing series of reviews of human rights in" rel="nofollow">in all member states of the UN, known as Universal Periodic Reviews (UPRs). Examin" rel="nofollow">ine a national report submitted by a member state (e.g. Papua New Guin" rel="nofollow">inea, Thailand, Syria, Zimbabwe, Sudan, South Sudan) in" rel="nofollow">in 2016 and write the brief for the Australian government to submit to the Commission’s discussion of the report (select two or three of the most important poin" rel="nofollow">ints in" rel="nofollow">in your chosen country report and bear in" rel="nofollow">in min" rel="nofollow">ind that the aim of the submission is to scrutin" rel="nofollow">inise and expose human rights practices and to encourage the country under review to meet where necessary its human rights obligations. See: https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/UPR/Pages/UPRMain" rel="nofollow">in.aspx 3. The (previous) United Nations Secretary-General’s Eighth report on the Responsibility to Protect, Mobilizin" rel="nofollow">ing collective action: the next decade of the responsibility to protect, UN Document A/70/999-S/2016/620, dated 22 July 2016. The report is accessible through: https://www.responsibilitytoprotect.org/SG Report 2016- Mobilizin" rel="nofollow">ing collective action- the next decade of the responsibility to protect.pdf This process was the outcome of the report by the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty (ICISS) (Gareth Evans and Mohamed Sahnoun, Co-Chairs), The Responsibility to Protect, 2001, accessible at: https://responsibilitytoprotect.org/ICISS Report.pdf 4. Independent in" rel="nofollow">international commission of in" rel="nofollow">inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, report “They came to destroy”: ISIS Crimes Again" rel="nofollow">inst the Yazidis to the UN Human Rights Council (15 June 2016) UN Document A/HRC/32/CRP.2 See: https://www.ohchr.org/Documents/HRBodies/HRCouncil/CoISyria/A_HRC_32_CRP.2_en.pdf 5. International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (ICNND) (Gareth Evans and Yoriko Kawaguchi, Co-Chairs), Elimin" rel="nofollow">inatin" rel="nofollow">ing Nuclear Threats: A Practical Agenda for Global Policymakers, 2009 www.icnnd.org/reference/reports/ent/pdf/ICNND_Report-Elimin" rel="nofollow">inatin" rel="nofollow">ingNuclearThreats.pdf B. Further Information on Task and Topic Selection Your briefin" rel="nofollow">ing should assume that the Australian delegation will use the briefin" rel="nofollow">ing as a guide to in" rel="nofollow">inform their in" rel="nofollow">interventions on behalf of the Australian Government at a UN conference convened to discuss progress of the recommendations contain" rel="nofollow">ined in" rel="nofollow">in the report, at either min" rel="nofollow">inisterial or officials level. You should assume the conference is convened at the present day, i.e. in" rel="nofollow">in 2017 (to discuss progress/development of the issue(s) and of the implementation of the report’s recommendations sin" rel="nofollow">ince the report was in" rel="nofollow">initially published). It should clearly outlin" rel="nofollow">ine the response (as you believe it should be) that Australia should make to the key fin" rel="nofollow">indin" rel="nofollow">ings and recommendations of the commission or panel you have chosen, or to the country report, or to the goals established and provide justifications, in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing from national in" rel="nofollow">interest and policy perspectives. Normally such a brief would contain" rel="nofollow">in a short section on what the Government’s established policy position is on the subject matter in" rel="nofollow">in question, and a reference to this in" rel="nofollow">in your brief will help establish the basis for your proposed response. As in" rel="nofollow">indicated in" rel="nofollow">in the Subject Guide, to make the task more manageable it is permissible to choose to write a briefin" rel="nofollow">ing on some part of a commission or panel or country report rather than the whole of it, given that a number of such reports (for example, ICNND on nuclear weapons) cover a very wide range of issues. In this case, permission should be sought from the Teachin" rel="nofollow">ing Assistant, Scott Clarey (by email: [email protected]). You may also wish to seek permission to write your briefin" rel="nofollow">ing on a report other than one of those listed. In this case permission should be sought from the Subject Coordin" rel="nofollow">inator, John Woods, or the Teachin" rel="nofollow">ing Assistant, Scott Clarey. You are expected to use citations and provide a bibliography as you would a normal research essay, even though such referencin" rel="nofollow">ing is not usual in" rel="nofollow">in official briefin" rel="nofollow">ing documents. A guide to referencin" rel="nofollow">ing can be found on the LMS. In Australian government practice there is no precise template for conference briefin" rel="nofollow">ings of this kin" rel="nofollow">ind: what is required will vary with the subject matter and the occasion. The followin" rel="nofollow">ing is a guide to the section headin" rel="nofollow">ings and content that are likely to be appropriate for most purposes, with a rough in" rel="nofollow">indication of word-lengths, which you may wish to draw on. The overall limit, excludin" rel="nofollow">ing headin" rel="nofollow">ings and sub-headin" rel="nofollow">ings, is 2,500 words: however your material is organised, please ensure that this total is not exceeded. Brief for Australian Delegation to UN Conference to Consider … [name Report, identifyin" rel="nofollow">ing particular sections or items if you are limitin" rel="nofollow">ing your brief to part of the whole] Background Brief background to the formation of the commission/panel, its aims and methodology; succin" rel="nofollow">inct summary of key issue(s) arisin" rel="nofollow">ing from the report (these may be drawn from the content of the report as well as other key issues related to it): 400 words. Australian Interests Outlin" rel="nofollow">ine whether and why the key issue (s) is/are important to Australia; and what the Australian Government’s – or governin" rel="nofollow">ing party’s – established policy position, if any, is (optional): c. 300 words. Evaluation of Key Issues Detailed assessment, usin" rel="nofollow">ing sub-headin" rel="nofollow">ings as appropriate, of the key issue(s), and all the factors which Australia should take in" rel="nofollow">into account in" rel="nofollow">in determin" rel="nofollow">inin" rel="nofollow">ing its position, in" rel="nofollow">includin" rel="nofollow">ing wider in" rel="nofollow">international/ geo-strategic implications (could the report, or implementation of its recommendations, have a major impact on global/regional/bilateral political/economic dynamics?); other Australian activities/policies that may be affected by acceptance or rejection if the recommendations are to be implemented; and other potential in" rel="nofollow">international – and domestic – risks/rewards/challenges. Basic theme: extent to which national in" rel="nofollow">interests in" rel="nofollow">in widest sense – traditional security and economic in" rel="nofollow">interests, but also value-based and reputational – would be advanced, hin" rel="nofollow">indered or not affected. Consideration in" rel="nofollow">in the light of these factors – and also whether the recommendations likely to fulfil their aims if accepted/implemented, and to what extent should that determin" rel="nofollow">ine government response – whether the Australian Government should support the commission/panel’s recommendations in" rel="nofollow">in full, or seek to strike a different balance. Aim for the implementation of a limited number of recommendations, or their partial implementation? Or aim to have the commission’s/panel’s recommendations rejected entirely? : 1500 words (maximum) Response to report recommendations Summarise, in" rel="nofollow">in light of this evaluation, in" rel="nofollow">in abbreviated poin" rel="nofollow">int form, usin" rel="nofollow">ing subheadin" rel="nofollow">ings as appropriate to separate recommendations or themes, the positions the delegation should take in" rel="nofollow">in response to the report as a whole, or your selected in" rel="nofollow">individual recommendations or issues from the report and/or the particular issues discussed in" rel="nofollow">in this briefin" rel="nofollow">ing. This section (or another section somewhere in" rel="nofollow">in your briefin" rel="nofollow">ing) should clearly articulate the response the Australian delegation should have, and any in" rel="nofollow">interventions they should make, at the conference with regard to the report’s recommendations and themes. This can be divided thematically, by report chapter or by recommendations. You may wish to cover only certain" rel="nofollow">in, relevant recommendations of the report (or chapter you have chosen) rather than the report (or chapter) as a whole. Please remember to make a brief risk assessment if you consider by other key countries might not agree with or contest your proposed responses/recommendations. c.300 words