On January 1, 2024, Indonesia will take office as a member
of the United Nations Human Rights Council, bringing with it a number of agenda
items aimed at promoting and defending human rights on a local, regional, and
global scale.
On October 10, 2023, in a secret ballot conducted by the UN
General Assembly in New York, the US, Indonesia was elected to reclaim its seat
for the sixth time.
Out of 192 UN members, Indonesia received the most votes
(186) to become a member for the 2024–2026 period.
In its history as a candidate for the UN Human Rights
Council, Indonesia had never earned as many votes as it did in this particular
count.
Previously, Indonesia held seats on the UN's top human
rights committee from 2006–2007, 2007–2010, 2011–2014, 2015–2017, and
2020–2022.
Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said, "This
showed trust in Indonesia to continue to advance human rights protection."
For the 2024–2026 term, Albania, Bulgaria, Cuba, Brazil, the
Dominican Republic, Peru, the Netherlands, and France were among the other
nations elected as members of the UNHRC.
safeguarding human rights
The UN Human Rights Council topic for Indonesia is
"Inclusive Partnership for Humanity."
Indonesia thinks that in order to advance and defend human
rights, inclusive partnerships are essential.
Regardless of political differences, nations should
cooperate to defend human rights, and Indonesia has always rejected the use of
these issues for political advantage, according to Marsudi.
For its tenure on the UN Human Rights Council, Indonesia has
three main objectives in mind. The protection and advancement of women's and
children's rights, making sure that all nations have access to development, and
concerns pertaining to civil and political rights are a few of the topics that
will be covered.
First, Indonesia is eager to improve international capacity
for promoting and defending human rights, particularly through technical
cooperation and capacity building, and to lessen disparities in this regard
across governments.
Indonesia will support bolstering the implementation of the
National Action Plan for Human Rights (RANHAM), in keeping with its commitment
to the protection and advancement of human rights at the national level.
This involves advocating for significant causes including
gender parity, women's and children's rights protection, and the right to
development and health.
RANHAM is a document that describes strategic goals for
putting into practice the respect, protection, fulfillment, enforcement, and
promotion of human rights for women, children, people with disabilities, and
indigenous people. It is governed by Presidential Regulation Number 53 of 2022.
The second goal is to advance and defend human rights in
Southeast Asia by institutionalizing the ASEAN Human Rights Dialogue and
bolstering the mandates of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human
Rights (AICHR) and ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the
Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).
In order to improve technical cooperation and capacity
building in the field of human rights in the region—particularly the rights of
children, women, and people with disabilities—Indonesia is also looking to step
up its collaboration with UN agencies and the regional office of the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
Finally, encourage the application of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights' (UDHR) ideals and the bolstering of
multilateralism through the tenets of equality, inclusivity, and solidarity.
The UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights (UDHR) in December 1948. Regardless of race, color, sex, language,
religion, national or social origin, or any other position, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) is a broad declaration of rights and
fundamental freedoms for all people.
The statement addresses essential human rights, such as the
freedom from torture, slavery, and enslavement; the freedom to practice any
religion one chooses; the freedom to work; the right to an education; and the
right to a standard of living sufficient for one's health and well-being.
The foreign ministry stated, "Indonesia will remain
dedicated to strongly push for robust implementations of UDHR to address the
challenges on the ground, beyond just commemoration."
In order to address challenges in the region connected to
human trafficking and smuggling, online child exploitation, and online labor
exploitation, Indonesia is also committed to stepping up collaboration with
other nations in the region as well as with international and regional
organizations.
Indonesia is eager to make sure that the UN Human Rights
Council does not turn into a platform for geopolitical rivalry and that it simply
addresses matters for political purposes while ignoring other crucial issues,
according to Achsanul Habib, the country's deputy permanent representative to
the UN in Geneva.
As a result, Indonesia will work to raise additional
concerns, such as the defense and advancement of women's and children's rights,
making sure that all nations have access to development, and problems
pertaining to civil and political rights.
During the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in
September in New York, the US, among other international venues, Indonesia has
made a point of highlighting the significance of development rights.
According to Foreign Minister Marsudi, all nations have the
equal right to progress and thrive, but the current global structure favors a
small number of people.
According to Marsudi, trade discrimination against
developing nations still exists. Some nations are monopolizing the global
supply chain, while many developing nations also have challenges with foreign
debt and development funding.
Speaking
Dinna Prapto Raharjo, the founder of the independent
think-tank Synergy Policies and a senior policy advisor on diplomacy, political
economy, and social security, said that Indonesia's membership in the UN Human
Rights Council will face difficulties because the world is currently becoming
more realistic and unilateral.
Stated differently, nations are become increasingly
self-interested and less inclined to collaborate with one another on matters
pertaining to human rights.
Countries are less likely to honor their commitments to
uphold and advance human rights when they are more preoccupied with serving
their own interests. She pointed out that as a result, nations are disregarding
practically all of their human rights obligations.
She noted that Indonesia's plan to use discussion to address
human rights issues in the Human Rights Council is unlikely to succeed because
it depends on other nations' cooperation.
Raharjo stated that Indonesia should not just rely on the
Human Rights Council but also work directly through a bilateral approach with
other nations to improve human rights protection, as the council's efficacy is
frequently restricted by political disagreements among member states.
Notwithstanding these obstacles, Indonesia's accession to
the UN Human Rights Council presents a significant chance for the nation to
advance and defend human rights on a national and worldwide level. Indonesia
can contribute to the development of norms and standards and the
awareness-raising of human rights concerns by collaborating with other council
members.
Source Antaranews
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