Human Rights Commission<\/p>\n
I am compelled to comment on the opinion of Yassin Tasrief in
\nyour report Poor record shuts RI out of UN rights commission
\n(Monday, May 20, 1996). He blames the government of Indonesia, in
\nparticular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for \"nominating
\nrelatively unknown figures\" for membership to the United Nations
\nSubcommission on the Prevention of Discrimination and the
\nProtection of Minorities. He views that the government \"should
\nhave selected people with an international reputation whose
\ncommitment towards human rights cannot be questioned.\"<\/p>\n
I could not agree more with Tasrief that Prof. Mochtar Kusuma-
\nAtmadja and Dr. Emil Salim are prominent figures with
\ninternational reputations. What he probably is not aware of is
\nthat the election process in an international body like UN
\nCommission involves many factors that could influence the final
\noutcome.<\/p>\n
He questions the integrity of the Indonesian candidates,
\nProf. Dr. Charles Himawan and Prof. Dr. H. Muladi. Does he really
\nknow them well? I doubt it. He otherwise would not have
\nquestioned their credentials. I believe both have strong
\ncredentials for the position and their commitment to human rights
\nis beyond doubt. As members of the National Human Rights
\nCommission, they are highly respected both nationally and
\ninternationally. Many governments have promised to support the
\nIndonesian candidates because of their credentials. As I
\nmentioned earlier, however, other considerations could prevail in
\nthe last stage of the election process.<\/p>\n
A poor atmosphere might have discouraged support for the
\nIndonesian candidates during the election. It seems the
\natmosphere was deliberately soured. The day before the election,
\nmany European television stations aired an incident occurring in
\nJakarta. This is a clear sign that certain parties do not want
\nIndonesia to be represented in the subcommission. I do not agree
\nthat Indonesia's human rights record obstructs it from
\nparticipating in the UN Human Rights Commission. Indonesia has
\nbeen outstanding in its effort to be re-elected for the third
\nconsecutive time as a member of the Commission for 1997 to 1999
\nat the election held during the Economic and Social Council in
\nNew York early this May.<\/p>\n
Unlike other regional groups in this election, the Asian Group
\nhad five candidates (Japan, Republic of Korea, Pakistan,
\nBangladesh and Indonesia) for only two seats. No single country
\nwanted to give up its candidacy, consequently, the competition
\nwas tight.<\/p>\n
I believe the Indonesian government did its utmost to nominate
\nthe best candidates and gain as much support as possible. It is
\nunwise, therefore, to put the blame on anybody.<\/p>\n
WESAKA PUJA<\/p>\n
Jakarta<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/human-rights-commission-1447893297", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }