Indonesia Ready for UNHRC Election

Foreign Affairs Ministry human rights director Achsanul Habib. (Photo:Medcom.id/Fajar Nugraha)

Jakarta: The Foreign Affairs Ministry is confident that Indonesia will be elected as a member of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2020-2022 period.

Indonesia will compete against Japan, China, South Korea, Iran and Marshall Islands. The election will only allocate four seats for Asia-Pacific countries.

"We are confident. We have a lot of advantages," Foreign Affairs Ministry human rights director Achsanul Habib told a press briefing on Thursday, February 21, 2019.

According to him, Indonesian is fully supported by Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member countries. Indonesia is also endorsed by Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries.

"We will lobby European, African and South American countries. We will also approach Australia and other countries," the Indonesian official noted.

Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi will attend a UNHRC meeting later this month. The Indonesian top diplomat will hold bilateral meetings with at least 15 countries.

"We have joined the organization four times. We are now seeking for a fifth term," he remarked.

Indonesia won 144 votes out of 193 member states during the 2018 United Nations Securty Council (UNSC) election. It previously joined the body in 1973-1974, 1995-1996, and 2007-2008.

As a member of UNSC, Indonesia along with 14 other countries is committed to maintain international peace and security. Among the 15 members of the UN Security Council for the period 2019-2020, Indonesia is the largest contributor to the UN Security Mission.

Indonesia is the largest democracy in Southeast Asia. Indonesia is also the largest Muslim majority country in the world.

(WAH)

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