Anthony Albanese needs support from the very superpower that is undermining the global principles and institutions Australia has long held dear
Anthony Albanese is scheduled to go to Washington DC next week for his first one-on-one meeting with the US president, Donald Trump. He is seeking to bolster US support for Aukus and ensure the US continues to provide military protection for Australia in the Asia-Pacific region. Of course, there will be talk of tariffs, too.
It’s traditional diplomacy – with a catch. Albanese needs support from the very superpower that is undermining the global principles and institutions Australia has long held dear, notably human rights, democracy and the international rule of law. These are principles and institutions that previous US administrations claimed to care about too.
What makes the meeting even more complex is that, during his second term, Trump has made it difficult for countries – even longtime allies – to know if they are friend or foe, undermining traditional alliances.
Trump has set up a game of geopolitical musical chairs. As the music plays, countries desperate not to be left out of trade, economic alliances or deals with the US run around the chairs with urgent self-interest. They seem to believe that when the music stops it’s not values or principles that will get them a seat but sycophancy and cunning.
Australia hears the music too and understands the game and does not want to incur Trump’s wrath. But what is Albanese to do? Avoid taking human rights positions that could lead to higher tariffs? The government should recognise that politics of appeasement don’t work. Concessions to bullies only embolden them to demand more. In the long run, if Trump continues to hack away at rules and norms, it will impose high costs for everyone.
The global human rights movement is already feeling the impact of Trump’s foreign policy. Within days of taking office, Trump withdrew from the World Health Organization and disengaged from UN human rights council, platforms for collective action against epidemics, atrocities, climate change and more. The Trump administration has sanctioned the international criminal court and threatens to undermine decades of investment, including by Australia, to bring justice to victims of the worst crimes globally. He has halted virtually all US payments to the UN, plunging the organisation into financial crisis. As the largest donor to human rights and humanitarian causes, the US terminated much of that funding.
It is in Australia’s best interests to step forward to defend and enhance human rights. They are more than an issue to rank alongside other priorities and are a critical piece of everything Australia seeks – from prosperous economic alliances to transparency and fair-trade practices across the region.
Governments that deny human rights create chaos and fear. Repressive regimes will go to great lengths to control their populations and deny them freedoms, sometimes even driving a repressed population to rise up to insist on better lives. In this region alone, look at recent events in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia and now Nepal – all with popular movements for their rights and against authoritarianism.
Governments that ignore human rights are also dubious partners, bringing with them risks in trade, diplomacy and security alliances with their lack of transparency or governance through decree.
In this new world order, where the rules are not only being broken but intentionally dismantled, Australia’s role is that much more consequential.
At the United Nations general assembly in September, Albanese said, “If we resign ourselves to the idea that war is inevitable, or relegate ourselves to the status of disinterested bystanders, if our only response to every crisis is to insist that there is nothing we can do, then we risk being trusted with nothing.”
As a leader among middle-power nations, Albanese could still do more to resist the Trump government’s policies that undermine the global rule of law. The Australian government should centre human rights in all dealings with foreign governments – including the Trump administration. And it should take the initiative.
When Albanese sits with Trump, he should raise concerns about US sanctions on the international criminal court and make clear his government will back the court’s work across the board. He should encourage Trump to reconsider the aid cuts given that the long-term consequences will be harmful for both the US and Australia, whether with respect to irregular migrants or China.
And while he will doubtlessly congratulate Trump for his role in negotiating a ceasefire between Israeli authorities and Hamas, he should still talk about crimes in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan and the need for accountability.
Raising these issues may not endear Albanese to Trump, but neither will shying away from being an assertive leader. Albanese needs to lead the way demonstrating that he can cement Aukus, handle the tariff issue and defend human rights. Each of these are in the Australian national interest.
Albanese should not relegate Australia to the status of “disinterested bystander”, just as his UN speech warns against. Unnecessary concessions to Trump’s worldview merely encourages what Albanese himself foreshadowed, “being trusted with nothing”. Should that happen, human rights will surely suffer.
