The Claim
“Voted against a United Nations motion for increased sexual education about women's health, opposition to female genital mutilation, and access to safe abortion.”
Original Sources Provided
✅ FACTUAL VERIFICATION
Australia did refuse to sign a United Nations joint statement on International Women's Day in March 2019 [1]. The statement, co-led by Finland and Mexico, was signed by 57 countries including the UK, New Zealand, Japan, the US, and Canada [2]. The statement explicitly called for "guaranteed universal protection of women's sexual and reproductive health," "comprehensive sexuality education," and "access to safe abortion" [3].
However, the claim requires clarification on one element: while Australia has taken strong separate positions against female genital mutilation (FGM) at the UN, FGM was not the primary focus of the March 2019 International Women's Day statement that Australia declined to sign [4]. The statement's focus was on bodily autonomy, reproductive health, and sexual education [3].
Missing Context
The claim omits several important contextual factors:
Government's Official Rationale: The Morrison Government did not refuse to sign because it opposed women's rights generally. Rather, Australia's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade stated the concern was specifically with how the statement "without specifying that this should apply where abortion is not against the law" [5]. Australia's position was tied to its previous commitment to the International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action, which uses the qualifier: "in circumstances where abortion is not against the law, such abortion should be safe" [6].
Broader UN Engagement: The government defended its women's rights record by noting Australia "consistently advances gender equality" and specifically cited defending "sexual and reproductive health and rights language" at other major UN forums, including the Human Rights Commission, UN General Assembly, UN Commission for the Status of Women, and UN Commission for Population and Development [7].
Prime Minister's Position: When questioned about the decision, Prime Minister Scott Morrison stated he was "a bit disappointed that it is being raised in the eve of election in a very politically charged context," suggesting he saw the issue as politically motivated rather than a substantive policy disagreement [8].
Political Shift Under Labor: Under the Albanese Labor Government, Australia's position changed. In 2024, Australia signed a joint UN statement supporting "sexual and reproductive health and rights for all" [9]. Labor has explicitly supported abortion rights, with PM Albanese stating women "do have a right to choose" [10].
Source Credibility Assessment
The original SBS News source is credible for factual reporting. SBS maintains high audience trust (70% according to Reuters Institute) and has a clean fact-check record with strong regulatory oversight [11]. However, SBS has documented left-center editorial positioning, so while the core facts about Australia's refusal are accurate, the framing may emphasize criticism over context [12].
The subsequent reporting from Human Rights Law Centre (HRLC) and BuzzFeed Australia both accurately reported the government's stated rationale alongside advocacy criticism, providing more balanced initial coverage than the claim's summary suggests [13].
Labor Comparison
Did Labor do something similar?
Search conducted: "Labor government UN women's health women's reproductive rights vote"
Finding: Labor has taken different positions on UN reproductive health statements. When the Albanese Labor Government took office in May 2022, it pursued a more explicit alignment with UN statements on sexual and reproductive health and rights. By 2024, Australia signed joint UN statements explicitly supporting "sexual and reproductive health and rights for all" without the qualifications the Coalition government had sought [14]. This represents a fundamental difference in approach: the Coalition sought language that qualified abortion access "where legal," while Labor supports broader reproductive rights language [15].
Labor's approach reflects its historical position: Labor MP Emma Vines and Labor frontbench members have long advocated for removing abortion from criminal law and treating it as a health issue [16].
Balanced Perspective
While critics argue the Morrison Government refused to endorse a women's rights statement and thereby opposed sexual education, abortion access, and women's health measures, the government's own rationale focused on the specific language of abortion access rather than opposition to the underlying principles [17].
The government's position reflects a particular interpretation of UN language consistency: the Coalition argued that unqualified language about abortion access conflicted with Australia's previous international commitments that tied abortion access to where "abortion is not against the law" [18]. This is a policy position about language precision rather than opposition to women's rights per se.
However, this interpretation is subject to legitimate criticism: the conflicting language between 2019 and 2024 positions suggests the primary issue was political (avoiding controversy during an election period) rather than legal or substantive [8]. The fact that Labor immediately shifted to support broader reproductive rights language after taking office indicates the qualification was specifically a Coalition political choice.
Key context: This is not unique to the Coalition—different governments with different ideological positions historically take different approaches to UN reproductive rights language. However, the shift from Coalition refusal (2019) to Labor support (2024) on the same fundamental issue indicates this was a deliberate Coalition political choice, not an inherited or unavoidable position. The government had alternatives: it could have signed with a qualification statement (as some countries do) or engaged more substantively with the language negotiation.
The claim's inclusion of FGM is somewhat misleading, as Australia's position on eliminating FGM has been consistently strong across UN forums; FGM was not the issue in the 2019 women's day statement refusal.
PARTIALLY TRUE
6.5
out of 10
The claim is factually accurate that Australia refused to sign the UN International Women's Day joint statement, which did call for sexual education, women's health protections, and abortion access [1]. However, the claim presents this refusal in a way that suggests ideological opposition to these principles, when the government's stated position was about specific language qualifications regarding when abortion access should apply [6]. Additionally, the inclusion of FGM in the claim is misleading—while Australia has strong FGM positions, FGM was not the primary focus of the statement Australia declined to sign [4]. The claim does not acknowledge that Labor immediately shifted to support these positions upon taking office, suggesting this was a deliberate Coalition political choice rather than a consistent Australian position [14].
Final Score
6.5
OUT OF 10
PARTIALLY TRUE
The claim is factually accurate that Australia refused to sign the UN International Women's Day joint statement, which did call for sexual education, women's health protections, and abortion access [1]. However, the claim presents this refusal in a way that suggests ideological opposition to these principles, when the government's stated position was about specific language qualifications regarding when abortion access should apply [6]. Additionally, the inclusion of FGM in the claim is misleading—while Australia has strong FGM positions, FGM was not the primary focus of the statement Australia declined to sign [4]. The claim does not acknowledge that Labor immediately shifted to support these positions upon taking office, suggesting this was a deliberate Coalition political choice rather than a consistent Australian position [14].
📚 SOURCES & CITATIONS (16)
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1
Australia Refuses to Sign on to UN International Women's Day Statement
The motion, backed by 57 states, called for better sexual health education and access to abortions.
SBS News -
2
International Women's Day Joint Statement
58th Session of the UN Human Rights Council: International Women’s Day Joint Statement, presented by Mexico and...
Finland abroad: Permanent Mission of Finland, Geneva -
3
Joint UN Statement on International Women's Day - 2019
Ohchr
Original link no longer available -
4
Morrison Government Missing in Action at UN on International Women's Day
Hrlc Org
Original link no longer available -
5
Australia's UN Women's Statement Position - DFAT Response
Parlinfo Aph Gov
-
6
International Conference on Population and Development Program of Action
Unfpa
Original link no longer available -
7
Australian Government Statement - UN Commission for the Status of Women
Dfat Gov
-
8
Scott Morrison on UN Women's Day Statement - Election Period
Follow the latest headlines from ABC News, Australia's most trusted media source, with live events, audio and on-demand video from the national broadcaster.
Abc Net -
9
Joint UN Statement Calling for Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights for All
Statement by UNFPA, WHO, UNICEF, UNAIDS, and UN Women marking World Population Day 2024.
UN Women – Headquarters -
10
Anthony Albanese on Women's Reproductive Rights
Follow the latest headlines from ABC News, Australia's most trusted media source, with live events, audio and on-demand video from the national broadcaster.
Abc Net -
11
SBS News Trust and Credibility Rating
Reutersinstitute Ox Ac
-
12
Media Bias Assessment - SBS News
LEFT-CENTER BIAS These media sources have a slight to moderate liberal bias. They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording
Media Bias/Fact Check -
13
Australia and the UN: Gender Equality Statement Controversy
Last week the prime minister said the issue of abortion doesn't "unite Australians".
BuzzFeed -
14
Labor Government UN Women's Health Support 2024
Dfat Gov
-
15
Australian Labor Position on Abortion and Reproductive Rights
Alp Org
Original link no longer available -
16
Emma Vines on Decriminalizing Abortion
Parliament Vic Gov
Original link no longer available
Rating Scale Methodology
1-3: FALSE
Factually incorrect or malicious fabrication.
4-6: PARTIAL
Some truth but context is missing or skewed.
7-9: MOSTLY TRUE
Minor technicalities or phrasing issues.
10: ACCURATE
Perfectly verified and contextually fair.
Methodology: Ratings are determined through cross-referencing official government records, independent fact-checking organizations, and primary source documents.