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

RI more respected abroad despite problems

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono trumpeted the success of his administration in lifting the country to become one of the world’s most respected nations, during his annual state address, delivered to commemorate the 67th anniversary of independence.

“Fourteen years ago, in the midst of a crisis, the International Monetary Fund [IMF] came and offered a loan with conditions that actually further compounded our economic situation. Now our country’s economy keeps growing, the IMF comes not to offer loans, but to have a consultation and exchange ideas with Indonesia on overcoming the global crisis that is currently taking place,” Yudhoyono said in his state address on Thursday (16/08).

Last month, the managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Christine Lagarde, paid Yudhoyono a visit.

While Lagarde was in town, the government announced that Indonesia would contribute US$1 billion to the IMF by purchasing the agency’s bonds. The decision, which sparked controversy, was aimed at helping the IMF deal with the European debt crisis.

In his state address, Yudhoyono also claimed that Indonesia had made great strides in international politics by engaging with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the United Nations, G20, East Asia Summit and Rio+20 Summit.

“From the various initiatives and ideas that we have proposed as a response to international dynamics, praise be to God our voice has increasingly been heard and taken into account. We are more often asked to provide our opinions — “What does Indonesia think?” — on a number of world issues. This proves that as an independent and sovereign nation, we can stand tall in the international arena,” Yudhoyono said.

The UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon recently appointed Yudhoyono, along with Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and UK Prime Minister David Cameron to co-chair the UN High-Level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 MDGs Development Agenda.

The first meeting of this panel will be held in the US at the end of September.

The Economist recently wrote in a piece entitled “Sitting Duck” that Yudhoyono had been looking beyond 2014 and that he has coveted an elder statesman’s role. “Not long ago some of his staffers even wondered if he might succeed Ban Ki-moon as secretary-general of the United Nations,” the London-based newspaper wrote, which also referred Yudhoyono as a globocrat.

Later in his speech, Yudhoyono however admitted that at the domestic level, his administration is dealing with many challenges including in the fight against corruption, bureaucratic reform and infrastructural problems.

Yudhoyono said that misappropriation of state budget had hampered efforts to improve the country’s education, health service, and infrastructure.

“There should no longer be any conspiracy between the government, the lawmakers, law enforcement agencies, and the business community in draining the state coffers, both in the state budget and the regional budgets. I have to admit there remain a large number individuals involved in graft, whether from the government, local administrations, lawmakers and local politicians or law enforcement officers,” he said.

On the issue of social conflict, Yudhoyono partly blamed the police for not taking action quickly enough. “When violent events occur, the police must immediately take quick, firm and appropriate action,” he said.

On the issue human rights, Yudhoyono claimed that the situation was vastly improved in spite of violence in Papua.

“Our brothers and sisters in Papua are always close to our hearts. The government realizes the complexity of the issues that require specific, fundamental and comprehensive measures,” Yudhoyono said.

Source: The Jakarta Post

Japan Donates $700k to UN’s Papua School Meals Initiative

The United Nations World Food Program on Thursday (06/06) received nearly $700,000 from Japan to support the organization’s school meals program and broader efforts to tackle food insecurity in Papua.

Under the WFP’s school meals program, nutritious foods are sourced from local smallholder farmers in Indonesia to use as the main ingredients in meals served in schools, a WFP press release said.

“WFP is very grateful for this important assistance from Japan, which will help us provide healthy and nutritious school meals to students in 11 Papua elementary schools,” Coco Ushiyama, WFP’s Indonesia representative and country director, said in the release.

“It will also enhance our collective work to improve food and nutrition security among schools, smallholder farmers and poor rural communities.”

Two years ago, WFP phased out its traditional program providing nutritious biscuits as snacks to schoolchildren. This new model has been successfully piloted in East Nusa Tenggara province. The effort to bring smallholder farmers’ associations into the food supply chain for school meals has created production incentives and new income-generating opportunities, the statement said.

“School meal programs are important in promoting health and nutrition as well as education,” said Yoshinori Katori, the Japanese ambassador to Indonesia.

Typically, school meal programs help increase attendance, attention spans, and the overall health and well-being of schoolchildren, while teachers, parents and cooks learn important facts on nutrition and how to maintain a healthy diet, the WFP statement said. The program’s inclusion of many members of the community has a multiplier effect that leads to a more nutritious and balanced diet throughout the population, it added.

In addition to the school meals program, WFP said it is supporting the government’s push for food and nutrition security for all through several other initiatives, particularly in light of the archipelago’s vulnerability to natural disasters.

These include upgrading food and nutrition security monitoring and analysis tools, improvements in food diversification and supply chain management, and an expansion of public-private partnerships.

Source: The Jakarta Globe