Albanese government secretly intervened against UN official over women’s sex-based rights
The Albanese government secretly intervened in international forums against the UN special rapporteur on violence against women and girls, Reem Alsalem, over her support for women’s sex-based rights, newly released documents suggest.
Obtained under freedom of information laws, the documents reveal the government’s handpicked ambassador for gender equality, Stephanie Copus Campbell, told an audience of public servants in September last year that Ms Alsalem had “taken a fairly difficult position on transgender rights in a way that doesn’t conform with our views”.
Ms Copus Campbell – whose term as ambassador ended in August, but was then a senior envoy in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade – told the group “we are directly engaging through various different mechanisms” to deal with the concerns about Ms Alsalem.
The next part of the ambassador’s “fireside chat” was redacted from the transcript at the request of DFAT on the grounds that “its disclosure would, or could reasonably be expected to, cause damage to the international relations of the commonwealth”.
Ms Alsalem has taken a strong stand against trans activist ideology and an intervention by the federal government against her work would mark a turning point in its bid to keep out of the issue and spark a potentially embarrassing public spat with the UN.
Ms Alsalem has requested an urgent meeting with Australia’s permanent mission to the UN in Geneva, saying that while governments are entitled to disagree with special rapporteurs “they must always respect our independence and not seek to undermine our work and our ability to speak our mind”.
[Image: a photograph of Ms Copus Campbell with Foreign Minister Penny Wong]
“My door has always been open to any government to have a constructive discussion on my positions and my interpretations of their international and regional obligations towards women and girls,” she said.
Ms Alsalem said the moves “shed light on the broader context in which also the Sex Discrimination Commissioner acted”, after The Australian revealed this week that Sex Discrimination Commissioner Anna Cody queried whether Ms Alsalem’s reappointment as UN special rapporteur could be blocked.
Ms Alsalem had challenged Ms Cody’s submission to the Federal Court in the Tickle v Giggle discrimination case that transgender women are women and that the prohibition against gender identity discrimination was consistent with the UN’s Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women.
Ms Alsalem argues that under the UN treaty, the term “gender” referred to two sexes, male and female, and the term “woman” referred to a biological female.
Anthony Albanese has continuously tried to avoid talking about transgender issues, saying in 2022 and 2023 that he defined a woman as “a human female” and that was “not a hard question to answer”.
After Scott Morrison tried to make the issue of trans women in female sports a political issue in 2022, his successor Peter Dutton also avoided talking about it publicly despite concerns from his party MPs about the growing encroachment on women’s rights.
After the last election, Health Minister Mark Butler launched a review into best practices for gender-distressed children due for mid-2026. But only this week, Mr Butler claimed puberty blockers were a state matter despite his own review.
Foreign Minister Penny Wong declined to answer specific questions from The Australian about whether it was appropriate for the Australian government to be intervening against Ms Alsalem, or how the government’s position on transgender rights differed from that of Ms Alsalem.
A DFAT spokesperson said: “The Australian government recognises that UN special rapporteurs play an important role in promoting discussion and dialogue and that their impartiality is important to the credibility of international accountability mechanisms. Our engagement on gender equality in multilateral forums is based on our commitment to international law, the multilateral system, and universal human rights.
Ms Copus Campbell’s remarks were made in a “fireside chat” with senior public servants from the Department of Education and the Department of Employment.
Affiliation of Australian Women’s Advocacy Alliances founder Megan Poore said the transcript “revealed a number of deeply concerning things from our perspective about the government’s approach to women’s sex-based protections and rights”.
“Rather than engaging directly with the special rapporteur to understand her views and her evidence-based analysis on issues affecting women and girls, the government appears to be directly engaging with selected parties to counter her position,” Dr Poore said.
“If the government maintains that ‘sex’ within CEDAW includes males who identify as women, it owes Australian women transparency about when, how, and under whose authority this interpretation shifted or was adopted.
“This matters because CEDAW was drafted to protect women on the basis of our biological sex. Any redefining of who qualifies as members of that protected class would fundamentally alter the treaty’s purpose and Australia’s obligations.”
Ms Copus Campbell, who has had a distinguished career in international relations and development in Australia, Papua New Guinea and the Pacific, was asked for comment.
