Last week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order withdrawing the United States from the UN Human Rights Council, cutting funding to the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East, and announcing a review of US engagement in the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). The order also announced a sweeping review of all intergovernmental organisations, treaties and conventions the United States is party to. This follows Trump’s decision – one of his first acts as president — to pull the United States out of the World Health Organisation in January.
These announcements may be shocking, but they aren’t that surprising. During his first administration, Trump also withdrew from the UNHRC and signalled his intent to leave the WHO, while his “America First” approach has long deprioritised international and multilateral engagement.
However, last week’s announcements still deal a significant blow to the multilateral system – and to Australia.
Australia has a vested interest in a strong multilateral rules-based order.
The United States has played a central role in shaping and sustaining the post-war multilateral system. It’s the single largest financial contributor to the UN, providing 22% of its annual general budget. The UN is already under significant strain and the global community is more polarised than ever. The US’s withdrawal (or threatened withdrawal) weakens the UN even further at a time when global challenges – climate change, AI governance, and rising geopolitical instability – require more cooperation, not less.
For Australia, US withdrawal is a problem. Australia has a vested interest in a strong multilateral rules-based order. Australia has traditionally relied on the United States as the underwriter of the UN system, as well as being a like-minded partner and an influential actor within the UN. Now, Australia faces a triple bind: US withdrawal leaves the UN and the rules-based international order weaker; US withdrawal also leaves Australia weaker within these systems; and – even where Washington remains engaged – Trump's positions will often diverge from Australia’s interests. Either which way, Australia’s influence and ability to protect and advance its interests in a weakened UN is diminished.
US withdrawal comes as China’s influence in the multilateral system is expanding.
In recent years, Beijing has been steadily increasing its engagement in the UN, securing leadership positions, expanding the number of its citizens working within the UN, and strategically funding key processes and institutions. China’s messaging, which focuses on "true multilateralism" as a system where no single country (read: the United States) dominates, a nation’s right to development, and the principle of state sovereignty, resonates widely. China’s leadership position among the Global South – particularly its leadership of the G77 + China, which represents 134 out of 193 UN member states – gives Beijing significant negotiating power within the UN.
For Australia, this is problematic. The positions China promotes – prioritising state sovereignty and weakening human rights protections, which undermine the principles of the UN charter – are at odds both with Australia’s values and its interests.
Yet, with the (broad) support of the Global South, China increasingly has the votes to shape key UN decisions. This, coupled with US withdrawal, increasingly leaves Australia in the voting minority, making it increasingly harder to protect Australia’s interests and uphold the principles of the rules-based international order. China will only benefit from the US withdrawal in the UN, which provides a vacuum and opening for China to step into.
For Australia, these developments present a significant strategic challenge. Australia has long relied on the assumption that the multilateral system – based on a commitment to international law, norms and the principles of the UN Charter – will broadly work in its favour. That assumption no longer holds true.
Just as authoritarian states systematically work to reshape global governance to suit their interests, Australia must be strategic in defining and promoting its own vision.
This presents a challenge that requires an urgent reassessment of Australia's approach to the United Nations and global governance.
First, Australia needs to take a more strategic approach to the global order, starting with a clear-eyed assessment of what it wants, doesn’t want, and which elements of the UN and international law are most vital to Australia’s current and future interests. Just as authoritarian states systematically work to reshape global governance to suit their interests, Australia must be strategic in defining and promoting its own vision. Messaging this effectively – both to like-minded partners and to a broader coalition of countries – will be essential to countering authoritarian narratives and ensuring that multilateralism continues to serve open, rules-based principles.
Second, Australia needs to conduct a new multilateral audit. This requires mapping how global governance is shifting, assessing the UN’s institutional strengths and weaknesses, exploring how major players – both democratic and authoritarian – work to advance their interests in the multilateral system, and forecasting to better anticipate future challenges, disruptions and opportunities within the UN.
Third, Australia needs a forward-looking and proactive strategy to navigate a multilateral order where it wields less influence. Rather than reacting to global shifts, Australia needs to find leverage, shape debates, and build broader coalitions. Where can Australia set or influence agendas? How can it use UN procedures to its advantage? How does it turn disruptions into opportunities? For example, a reduced US presence in some forums actually creates openings, giving Australia more space to advance its interests without every issue becoming a proxy between Washington and Beijing.
Finally, Australia must be able to execute this strategy effectively. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade needs structural reforms, greater resourcing, and better coordination to enhance Australia’s influence in multilateral settings. This also requires a renewed bipartisan consensus that Australia must remain engaged in the UN and global governance. Australia’s national interest must come before domestic politics. After all, if Australia disengages, others will shape the system even further in ways that work against the country.
Australia has to take these steps. The world has changed, and Australia’s approach to multilateralism must change with it. In this era of geopolitical competition, Australia must be more proactive, more strategic, and more willing to step up and shape the multilateral system in ways that reflect and protect the country’s interests and values.
