Indonesia increasingly contributing to human rights cause: the UN

The United Nations (UN) High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay has stated that Indonesia has been making an increasingly significant contribution to the cause of human rights regionally as well as globally.

“Through its constructive role in the regional human rights mechanisms of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and at the Human Rights Council, Indonesia has made an important contribution to the advancement of human rights,” she said during a press conference at the United Nations Information Centre (UNIC) here on Tuesday.

Pillay noted that Indonesia has earned much praise for its ratification of many international human rights treaties.

She pointed out that the country took part in eight core human rights conventions and committed itself to the ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

“Indonesia has also recently ratified the Convention on the Rights of Migrant Workers, which encourages neighbouring countries to embrace international human rights standards in order to protect the rights of migrants,” Pillay said.

She stated that, during her visit to Indonesia, she “encouraged the government to accede to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol”.

Based on UN data, Indonesia has accepted 150 of the 180 recommendations made during the Universal Periodic Review under the Human Rights Council.

“I was also pleased to learn that the Indonesian government recently agreed to a visit by the Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression, which I hope will encourage other governments in the region to follow suit,” Pillay said.

She also praised three human rights institutions — the National Human Rights Institutions (Komnas HAM), the National Commission on Violence against Women (Komnas Perempuan), and the National Committee for Child Protection — for their efforts in promoting human rights across the country.

“These institutions are vital for the protection of human rights in Indonesia and I commend the government for supporting them. I hope the government will also provide them with increased financial support,” Pillay stated.

“The central and local governments should be proud of the work that these institutions do, see them as partners, and ensure their protection throughout the country,” she added.

Earlier, on November 7, Pillay arrived in Bali to attend the 5th Bali Democracy Forum. After taking part in the forum, she visited Jakarta at the invitation of the Indonesian government.

During her stay in Jakarta, Pillay held meetings with Indonesian ministers and officials, UN organizations and the diplomatic community, as well as national human rights institutions.

Source: ANTARA News

Indonesia, German firm sign agreement on tanks sale

Indonesia and German defence company Rheinmetall on Thursday signed an agreement that paves the way for the purchase by the Asian nation of 150 tanks from Germany.

“The memorandum of understanding (MoU) is related to transfer of technology and maintenance,” said Major General Ediwan Prabowo, head of the defence facilities agency at the Defence Ministry.

Prabowo said he hoped the contract for the purchase of 100 Leopard main battle tanks and 50 lighter Marder tanks would be signed this month.

Prabowo told that he hoped to sign both the MoU and the contract on Saturday, after a defence exhibition in Jakarta in which Rheinmetall was among the companies from 40 countries participating.

He said there were still some minor sticking points, mostly technical, and that there were no pending political or legal issues.

He also said Indonesia wanted the first batch to be delivered this year, but Rheinmetall had not given assurances about the timing.

Indonesia, the world’s fourth most populous country, has embarked on an ambitious drive to modernise its under-equipped military and build a defence industry.

Also on Thursday, the Defence Ministry signed a similar agreement with Brazilian defence company Avibras Industria Aeroespacial for the purchase of multiple launch rockets.

Source: Deutsche Presse Agentur

Australian won’t bow to Papua pressure, FM says

Foreign Minister Bob Carr says Australia has been “explicit” in its support for Indonesia’s sovereignty over Papua.

Australian Foreign Minister, Bob Carr

Senator Carr told Newsline the provinces have been recognised “by all the nations in the earth” as Indonesian territory.
(See the video)

“There are Australians, a very small number I think…who take an interest in the notion for more autonomy for Papua but I remind them that you’d be doing a disservice to the Indonesian population of those two provinces if you held out any hope that Australia could influence the cause of events,” he said.

The Foreign Minister has dismissed suggestions public pressure would cause Australia to change its policy on Papua’s autonomy.

“I just ask those idealistic Australians who might entertain some other arrangement, that what would be the cost in terms of our friendship with Indonesia and in terms of our budget of a different arrangement.

“It’s inconceivable, utterly inconceivable.”

‘Australians seen as Asians’

The Foreign Minister says Australia’s relationship with Indonesia involves a “habit of consultation” – a relationship it enjoys with a number of its Asian neighbours including Japan, South Korea and Singapore.

“We had the Singaporeans through in recent weeks and again we have common approaches to issues like the South China Sea, he said.

“A comfortable alignment of our foreign policy positions.”

He also countered criticisms Australia’s perceptions of Asia are superficial and too “Eurocentric” in response to the recently-released Asian Century policy paper.

“The foreign minister of Myanmar was through here last week and he said..’We see Australia as Asians’,” he said.

“Why wouldn’t he? We were there in Myanmar lifting, not just suspending our sanctions.”

Senator Carr says the fact Australia won a seat on the United Nations Security Council is also testament of its strong relationship with its neighbours.

“I was struck by this when I stood there in the UN and I was being congratulated by nations from every region in the world and it dawned on me that they’re comfortable with Australia and that reflects our diplomacy,” he said.

Source: Australia Network News

Britain and Indonesia ink deals on trade, defence, education

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron shakes hands with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono

Britain’s Prime Minister David Cameron and Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono signed a string of agreements on trade, defence and education on Thursday, the British government said.

“They had constructive discussions on a number of subjects, with the focus on the UK-Indonesian trade and investment relationship,” said a spokeswoman for Cameron’s Downing Street office.

On the second day of Yudhoyono’s state visit to Britain, aimed at boosting ties with the emerging Asian power, the two leaders and Liberia’s President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf also chaired talks in London on global efforts to fight poverty.

The Downing Street spokeswoman said Cameron and Yudhoyono had sealed a defence deal which would boost cooperation in “research and development, investment and production”.

They also announced a £7.5 billion ($12.1 billion, 9.3 billion-euro) deal for BP to develop liquid natural gas in Indonesia, and signed an agreement strengthening links between the two countries’ universities.

Cameron’s spokeswoman added that while he had praised Yudhoyono for “his leading role in Indonesia’s transition from autocracy to a vibrant democracy”, the pair had discussed the protection of human rights in regions such as Papua.

The two leaders and Johnson Sirleaf had earlier chaired a panel of politicians from 26 countries charged with developing an anti-poverty strategy after the Millennium Development Goals expire in 2015.

The eight goals, established in 2000, set targets on improving education, health and women’s rights, ending hunger, and protecting the environment.

Cameron said he believed world leaders now had a real opportunity to eradicate poverty.

“That is something politicians have been talking about for a while — but for the first time I believe this generation really has the opportunity to do it,” he said after the meeting.

“We think the Millennium Development Goals have made great progress. There’s more progress to be made between now and 2015, but we’re clear the next stage should be aiming to eradicate absolute poverty in our world completely.”

The panel is meeting for three days in London, the second of four rounds of talks before it reports back to UN Secretary General in May next year.

On Friday, the final day of Yudhoyono’s state visit, he will address officials at the Foreign Office and meet with Indonesian business figures.

Queen Elizabeth II hosted a glittering banquet in honour of Yudhoyono and his wife Ani on Wednesday night, after formally welcoming them with a guard of honour and a ride in her ceremonial carriage.

Source: AFP

Indonesia’s President welcomed by British queen

Quen Elizabeth II: “I am confident that if we work together on our shared aspiration to build a prosperous world based on fundamental freedoms, the partnership between the United Kingdom and Indonesia will continue to flourish.”

Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II welcomed Indonesia’s President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on Wednesday for a state visit aimed at boosting ties with the emerging Asian power, with the help of some traditional pomp and pageantry.

The queen hosted a lavish banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of Yudhoyono and his wife Ani, after formally welcoming them for the three-day visit with a guard of honour and a ride in her ceremonial carriage.

In a speech to the 177 dinner guests in the palace ballroom, the 86-year-old British monarch praised the strong relationship between the two countries and spoke of their “common values”.

“I am confident that if we work together on our shared aspiration to build a prosperous world based on fundamental freedoms, the partnership between the United Kingdom and Indonesia will continue to flourish,” she said.

She described Indonesia as having undergone a “remarkable transformation” since Yudhoyono came to power in 2004.

“It is now a thriving democracy and one of the world’s fastest growing economies,” said the queen, who visited Indonesia in 1974 with her husband Prince Philip.

“Your visit marks a further step in strengthening our relationship.”In his own speech, delivered in Indonesian, Yudhoyono said the two countries “have many things in common, including in efforts to strengthen democracy”.

“I wish to reaffirm my country’s readiness to establish close cooperation with the United Kingdom,” he told the assembled guests, who included British Prime Minister David Cameron, other ministers and members of the royal family.

The guests were served Scottish halibut followed by a main course of chicken with baby artichokes and fondant potatoes, and a desert of iced green apple with a mulberry parfait made with fruit from the palace garden.

The queen wore a gold dress with a diamond necklace passed down to her from Queen Victoria, her great-great-grandmother.

She had earlier welcomed the Yudhoyonos with a military ceremony on Horse Guards Parade, the large parade ground in central London, where the visiting leader inspected the troops in their scarlet uniforms and bearskin hats.

The queen and Prince Philip then accompanied them in a horsedrawn state carriage procession along the Mall to Buckingham Palace, where the visiting couple are staying during their trip.

Yudhoyono will hold talks with Cameron on Thursday and attend a meeting of the high-level United Nations panel that is drawing up a strategy on how to build on the Millennium Development Goals.

Yudhoyono, who is the world’s only head of state to have served as a UN peacekeeper, will also give a speech at the Royal College of Defence Studies.
The 15th-century Guildhall, in London’s financial district, will host a second banquet on Thursday night.

Several trade announcements are expected during the three-day trip, with Britain keen to gain access to Indonesia’s fast-growing economy and 240 million consumers.

The state visit is part of Britain’s drive to boost its diplomatic presence in Southeast Asia, with Indonesia regarded by British officials as the most influential player in the region.

As the world’s largest Muslim-majority country, it is also seen as a strategic ally in the Islamic world.

Britain usually hosts two state visits each year, but Yudhoyono is the only foreign head of state to receive the formal hospitality in 2012 following months of diamond jubilee celebrations marking the queen’s 60th year on the throne.

The last state visit was by Turkish President Abdullah Gul in November last year.

Source: AFP

Empowering Women and Girls in the Pacific

A Papuan woman fills her ballot at a polling center Jayapura, in eastern Papua province, on July 8, 2009. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Initiatives have been launched by the Australian government to empower women and girls of the Pacific island nations and eradicate physical and sexual violence in the region.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard announced early in September an injection of funds to help governments and non-government aid agencies prevent and respond to violence that studies show 60 per cent of women and girls suffer in some Pacific countries.

Ms Gillard also announced the appointment of Australia’s first Global Ambassador for Women and Girls, Penny Williams, a career diplomat. Ms Williams started in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade as a graduate many years ago with an Asian studies degree in Indonesian. She is fluent in three languages.

In an ABC Radio Pacific Beat interview, Ms Williams said studies show that putting women and girls at the centre of an aid programme reduced poverty and built stronger economies in the community.

Aid agencies say many women in the Pacific suffer domestic violence and high maternal death rates, do most of the work for a fraction of the male wage and have no voice in government, according to Pacific Beat.

Ms Williams hopes by empowering women and girls, the violence will end and women encouraged to take up leadership roles in business and politics.

Women’s representation in Pacific governments is the lowest in the world, just 3 per cent, according to United Nations statistics.

Last year, the only female MP in the Papua New Guinea government, Dame Carol Kidu, sponsored a bill to amend the constitution and to reserve 22 women-only seats before the 2012 election.

PNG women’s groups have called on the current 109 members of parliament to support the bill.

Australia’s Parliamentary Secretary for Pacific Island Affairs, Richard Marles welcomed Ms Williams’ appointment a coup for Pacific women and girls.

“The Pacific performs as the worst region in the world in terms of female representation in government,” he said. “Today, there was not a United Nations member-country in the Pacific that had more than five per cent of women in parliament. Of 25 countries in the world with those statistics, half are in the Pacific Island region.

“We can see that is reflected in other indicators that affect women’s lives. The mortality rate, 0.6 per cent, (600 of every 100,000 women), will die by virtue of being pregnant. I can’t help but feel that these things are linked. I think there is a growing awareness in the Pacific that things need to change.”

Source: The Epoch Times