JAKARTA: Indonesia remains committed to supporting the rights of the people of Palestine, Foreign Minister Sugiono said in Geneva on Monday (Feb 23), vowing that Jakarta would uphold international humanitarian laws amid what he described as an increasingly polarised and politicised global human rights landscape.
Addressing more than 120 representatives from 47 participating countries at the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC), Sugiono lamented the proliferation of conflicts and humanitarian emergencies worldwide, singling out Palestine as reports of violence continue to emerge from the Gaza Strip and West Bank.
“With regard to the people of Palestine, Indonesia reaffirms its unwavering support for their inalienable rights,” Sugiono said. “We continue to call for an immediate end to violence, rapid, full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, [as well as] a credible pathway toward a just and lasting peace based on a two-state solution, [as] upholding international humanitarian law is our collective obligation,” he added.
International concern over the humanitarian situation in Gaza cast a heavy shadow over Geneva as the week-long rights talks began on Monday, with scores of officials and delegates warning that conditions in the Palestinian enclave remained “catastrophic” nearly five months after the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas.
Despite the United States insisting that progress was being made in the enclave, including through security discussions with key actors, UN rapporteurs reported continued indiscriminate attacks by Israeli forces and severe shortages of basic amenities in Gaza.
The latest Israeli legislative measures in the West Bank have also caused global ire amid concerns of further entrenchment. Speaking at the opening of the rights talks in Geneva, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres lamented the situation in Palestine, condemning what he described as “blatant violations of human rights, human dignity and international law in the occupied Palestinian territory”.
“The current trajectory is stark, clear and purposeful; the two-state solution is being stripped away in broad daylight,” Guterres said. “The international community cannot allow this to happen.”
A bridging force Indonesia, a long-time supporter of Palestine that has stepped up its role in post-war reconstruction efforts in Gaza through the US-led Board of Peace, stressed during the session that any lasting solution to conflicts must “not be imposed, but forged through trust and mutual respect”.
As president of this year’s UNHRC, Indonesia will work to ensure the body remains relevant and consistent, Sugiono said, pledging to avoid politicisation and selective practices in addressing rights complaints.
The country, he said, would continue to advance human rights at home through various welfare-oriented programs and legal reforms, as well as the region at large, including in addressing the Myanmar crisis through Asean.
“Indonesia will work to bridge differences, consult broadly, listen carefully and act responsibly,” Sugiono added.
Myanmar’s unabating political and humanitarian crisis, sparked by the military coup that overthrew its democratically elected government, has now entered its fifth year and continues to pose challenges for South-East Asia, amid rising transnational crimes and ongoing violence as the civil war drags on.
Both Myanmar and Palestine will be discussed during the week-long session in Geneva, according to official schedules, alongside the situations in Afghanistan, Venezuela, Colombia and Sudan.
Monday’s session marks the first UNHRC meeting to be presided over by Indonesia, following the inauguration of Indonesian Permanent Representative to the UN in Geneva Sidharto R. Suryodipuro as council president in early January.
Jakarta’s leadership comes as the council has been facing major funding cuts following the withdrawal of the US from the grouping, even as rights violations surge in conflict zones.
In his opening remarks, Sidharto called on participants to confront the mounting challenges head-on, stressing the need for resilience and cooperation. “[We] must acknowledge that the ongoing financial constraints within the UN have affected our collective ability to fully implement our mandates,” Sidharto said.
“Yet rather than retreat, these constraints compel us to act with greater resolve, innovate, remain responsive and reinforce the multiple layers of the global human rights architecture, regional organisations and national human rights institutions, alongside civil society.” - The Jakarta Post/ANN
