JAKARTA: Indonesia on Thursday (May 14) called on BRICS to play a more active role in maintaining global peace, calling for the fair enforcement of international law and reaffirming support for Palestine as tensions over the Iran conflict exposed deepening divisions within the bloc.
Addressing top diplomats from the 10-member grouping, Foreign Minister Sugiono warned that the world was increasingly shaped by unilateral economic measures and political interference, and urged BRICS to take greater responsibility for confronting injustice and upholding international law consistently.
“We live in a world where those who built the international order are also contributing to its disorder,” Sugiono said during his intervention.
“As a rising force of the Global South, BRICS has both the standing and responsibility to take a more active role in safeguarding peace and preserving the rules that sustain global stability,” he continued.
Sugiono said practical steps BRICS could take included safeguarding the integrity of the International Court of Justice, strengthening the United Nations Security Council, advancing meaningful reform of global governance and defending a “non-discriminatory trading system” centred on the World Trade Organisation.
He warned that widening rifts among major powers and escalating conflicts, particularly in the Middle East, illustrated how unchecked geopolitical rivalries could spiral into destruction, urging BRICS not to be pulled into growing global polarisation.
“With our collective weight comes a collective responsibility: to become part of the solution, not part of the polarisation,” Sugiono said.
Attention turned to New Delhi this week as foreign ministers from BRICS nations gathered for two days of talks ahead of a leaders’ summit slated for July, with the United States-Israeli war on Iran and surging oil prices casting a shadow over the meeting.
Leading the talks, Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar said the bloc was meeting at a time of “considerable flux” in international relations, noting that there were growing expectations for BRICS to “play a constructive and stabilising role”.
Energy security, local currency trade and disruptions caused by the protracted closure of the Strait of Hormuz dominated the talks, with divisions within BRICS quickly surfacing as members including Iran, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates adopted differing positions on the conflict.
Portraying Iran as a “victim of illegal expansionism and warmongering” in his official remarks, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters on the sidelines that the UAE had been directly involved in the US-Israeli military campaign, adding that Tehran had initially refrained from naming Abu Dhabi publicly in an effort to preserve unity within BRICS.
His remarks came after a UAE representative accused Iran of launching attacks against the country and described Tehran as the aggressor in the conflict.
The UAE and several other Arab states were targeted by Iranian missile and drone strikes after the US and Israel began attacking Iran in late February.
A fragile ceasefire has remained in place since April 8. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi later escalated the rhetoric, insisting that Iran was “the real victim” of the war and arguing that Tehran had no choice but to strike facilities linked to US bases in the UAE in self-defence.
“This action is strictly in accordance with the UN Charter and within the framework of the right of self-defence. The UAE is an aggressor. You cannot hide behind these lies and false claims. The only country that should act according to its obligations under international law is the UAE,” Gharibabadi said during the second session, according to official releases.
According to various reports, the dispute among BRICS members has delayed the bloc’s anticipated joint statement, as Iran pushed for collective condemnation of the US and Israel despite resistance from several member states.
Against this backdrop of rising tensions and internal divisions, Indonesia reiterated its position that the prolonged conflict in the Middle East was rooted in the “unresolved injustice” facing Palestinians, emphasising that peace would remain elusive without Palestinian statehood.
“Lasting peace cannot be achieved without justice for the Palestinian people, and there can be no justice without the realisation of their legitimate right to an independent and sovereign state,” Sugiono said in his remarks, referring to Israel’s longstanding occupation of Palestinian territories.
“Indonesia therefore continues to stand firmly for the two-state solution [for Palestine and Israel], in accordance with international law and relevant UN resolutions,” he continued. - The Jakarta Post/ANN
