Indonesia Affirms Palestine's Rights in UNSC

New York, MINA – Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Retno L. P. Marsudi affirmed Palestine natural and legal rights to become full member of the United Nations.

This was conveyed by Minister Retno while attending the UN Security Council Open Debate on the situation in the Middle East, in New York, United States,Tuesday, Jan 22.

“I intentionally attended this UN Security Council meeting, to affirm Indonesia’s full support for the Palestinian struggle,” said Retno in front of the UN Security Council members, as written statement by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs received by MINA.

He stated even though the journey towards independence and membership of the United Nations will not be easy, this would not weaken Palestinian efforts and the international community to realize the Palestinian rights.

Foreign Minister Retno also stressed that the Palestinian issue must receive full attention from the UN Security Council.

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“The success of resolving the Palestinian issue will determine the credibility and trust of the international community towards the UN Security Council,” she added.

She also conveyed three points that need attention in encouraging settlement of conflicts between Palestine and Israel.

First, the importance of all parties to comply with international law and all related UN resolutions, and not to take provocative steps. Foreign Minister Retno stressed that various violence and violations of international law must be stopped immediately.

“The construction of illegal settlements is wrong, so it must be stopped immediately,” she said.

The second is the importance of a legitimate peace-settlement process. Retno stressed the importance of the peace process in compliance with agreed international parameters and those who supported the multilateral mechanism.

For this reason, the Indonesian expressed concern about the current efforts to get out of the principle of Two-States of Solution in resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

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“Indonesia affirms that the Two-State Solution is the only way to advance the Palestinian and Israeli peace process,” she said.

Indonesia is very concerned about the prolonged humanitarian crisis facing Palestine, especially in Gaza.

Retno stressed that the Israeli blockade in Gaza, which has been lasted 11 years and caused humanitarian crisis that must be ended immediately.

She also appreciated the UN member countries which have supported the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) to overcome their financial deficits and humanitarian problems in Gaza.

UNRWA provides health, education and social services for Palestinians in the West Bank, Gaza Strip, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon.

“Indonesia has increased its contribution to UNRWA and continued to increase humanitarian assistance to Palestine,” she explained.

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The agency provides services to more than five million Palestinian refugees. Most of them are descendants of Palestinians who fled or forced to leave their homeland during the war of Israel in 1948.

The United States has halted for almost 30 percent of the total UNRWA budget. In 2016, the US contributed $ 355 million. But in January 2017, President Donald Trump government only spent $ 60 million.

The UN Security Council Open Debate on Tuesday also discussed the conflict in Syria and Yemen.

Foreign Minister Retno, who firstly attended this forum after Indonesia officially became a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council on January 1, pushed the role of the United Nations to facilitate the reconciliation efforts in Syria and Yemen (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA