Indonesia signals active role in UN security council<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Indonesia will oppose the use of force in
\nresolving international disputes during its two-year tenure in
\nthe United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which begins this
\nmonth.<\/p>\n
Minister of Foreign Affairs Ali Alatas said in his annual
\npolicy briefing to the media yesterday that force should only be
\nused as a last resort, where all other peaceful and diplomatic
\nattempts at resolution had failed.<\/p>\n
The United Nations has in the past sanctioned the use of
\nmilitary force to achieve the implementation of certain
\nresolutions.<\/p>\n
Most notorious was the 1991 Gulf War in which a Western
\nalliance beseiged and bombarded Iraq, in the name of the UN,
\nafter Baghdad failed to comply with UN resolutions.<\/p>\n
Indonesia strenuously protested this course but its voice was
\nnot heeded.<\/p>\n
Having officially assumed the two-year position at the
\nSecurity Council on Sunday, Alatas yesterday asserted that
\nJakarta would not stand idle in the face of such flagrant uses of
\nforce.<\/p>\n
A less coercive stance would increase the prestige of the
\nSecurity Council, the minister reasoned.<\/p>\n
Alatas further stated that Indonesia would like to see more
\ntransparency, accountability, legitimacy and efficiency at the
\nUNSC, along with a higher degree of preventive diplomacy in the
\npotential flashpoints in the world.<\/p>\n
He also said that the modest use of veto powers since the end
\nof the cold war should be maintained.<\/p>\n
The UNSC is made up of 10 non-permanent members elected by the
\nGeneral Assembly to serve two-year terms, while five-nations hold
\npermanent membership and have exclusive veto rights. The
\ncouncil's permanent members are Britain, the United States,
\nRussia, China and France.<\/p>\n
\"The composition of the Security Council is a fact we have to
\naccept. You can't do much about it,\" Alatas remarked.<\/p>\n
He acknowledged that it would be difficult for a country like
\nIndonesia to make a tremendous impact but it could, he said, play
\nan influential role.<\/p>\n
According to Alatas one key aspect of Indonesia's role would
\nbe the maintenance of unity and cohesion within the \"Non-Aligned
\nMovement Caucus\" at the UNSC. The Caucus is made up of the Non-
\nAligned Movement (NAM) countries currently on the Security
\nCouncil: Botswana, Nigeria, Oman, Rwanda and Indonesia.<\/p>\n
\"Don't give up. We can make a difference if we are united,\"
\nAlatas said in reference to the NAM Caucus, which accounts for
\none-third of the members of this Western dominated council.<\/p>\n
Speaking on the question of an expansion of the permanent
\nmembership, Alatas reiterated Jakarta's position that it supports
\nthe idea \"in principle.\"<\/p>\n
He said that Indonesia would not object to the inclusion of
\nJapan and Germany in the council, because the two countries had
\n\"strong grounds to be permanent members.\"<\/p>\n
However, Alatas decried any expansion of the Council without
\nthe inclusion of developing countries. He said that without such
\ninclusion the UNSC would continue to be dominated by the
\ndeveloped countries with only China to represent developing
\ncountries.(mds)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/indonesia-signals-active-role-in-un-security-council-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}