News on envoy candidates

News on envoy candidates

It is regrettable that The Jakarta Post published a report
covering personal opinions of several legislators pertaining to
the closed-door hearing between the Commission I of the House of
Representatives and some candidates for ambassadorial posts (Page
3, Feb. 27). The report even mentioned some candidate's names and
countries of destination.

It is very important to bear in mind that the whole
candidature process should be carried out in strict
confidentiality. During the process, names of the candidates and
receiving states as well as opinions about the candidates should
not be disclosed to the public prior to the announcement of an
"agreement" by the receiving state. Confidentiality of the
process is required by the rules of customary international law
which have been incorporated into Indonesian positive law,
particularly by Law No.1/1982 (on the Ratification of the 1961
Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations and its Optional
Protocol) and Law No.37/1999 (on Foreign Relations).

Respecting the confidentiality of the selection process for
ambassadorial posts is of our common concern, because it has a
significant impact to the way we -- as a nation -- conduct our
relations with other sovereign states.

UMAR HADI, Media Relations, Department of Foreign Affairs,
Jakarta