Govt delays signing antigraft pact

JAKARTA: Indonesia will not sign the United Nations Convention against Corruption in Mexico this week, but at the world body's headquarters in New York next week.

Minister of Justice and Human Rights Yusril Ihza Mahendra said on Tuesday that he was unable to attend the UN meeting in Mexico City because he had to represent the government in the judicial review hearings at the Constitutional Court.

"The President assigned me to attend the Court hearings and to sign the convention in New York," he told reporters.

President Megawati Soekarnoputri has appointed Yusril to represent the government at a total of 14 constitutional hearings between Tuesday and Thursday.

He said he would leave the country on Dec. 12 for Paris for a bilateral meeting with his French counterpart, before flying for New York on Dec. 16.

Indonesia is expected to ratify the convention next year. The convention will come into effect 90 days after ratification by at least 30 member states. -- JP