UNGA ANNUAL PLENARY MEETING ON THE RESPONSIBILITY TO PROTECT
CANZ Statement delivered by H.E. Mr. James Larsen, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations
25 June 2025
Thank you, President,
I am delivering this statement on behalf of CANZ: Canada, New Zealand and my own country, Australia.
We thank the UN Secretary-General for his report, and acknowledge the presence of the Special Adviser on the Responsibility to Protect, Ms Mô Bleeker.
The twentieth anniversary of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P), in the eightieth year of the United Nations, is an opportunity to take stock.
Particularly, as we face the highest level of conflict since the Second World War.
President, Responsibility to Protect is at the core of member states’ sovereign responsibilities and obligations to protect their populations from egregious atrocities.
We have three key requests:
First, as the report highlights, there are reported violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in ongoing conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Myanmar, Sudan, Ukraine and Yemen.
Upholding international humanitarian and human rights law is fundamental to building peace and security.
We call on all parties to uphold their obligations.
Second, we cannot allow impunity.
We call for full accountability for atrocity crimes through appropriate national and international investigative and justice mechanisms, such as the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.
Third, evidence-based advocacy, monitoring and capacity-building can ensure state and non-state actors have the tools and capabilities to fulfill their protection responsibilities.
This is why Australia commissioned the R2P Framework for Action, by the Asia-Pacific Centre for R2P, which provides practical actions all states can take to build resilience and implement R2P.
We urge Member States to use this framework.
At its heart, R2P reinforces the longstanding principle that civilian populations must be protected from heinous atrocities that threaten peace and security.
Now more than ever, we must continue to promote and defend our collective political commitment to R2P and its implementation.