Indonesia Gives Special Attention to Palestine in UNSC

Jakarta, MINA – Indonesian Foreign Minister (FM) Retno LP Marsudi led the United Nation Security Council briefing about the situation of the peace process in the Middle East at the UN Headquarters, New York, the United States on Wednesday.

Indonesian FM in her capacity as President of the UNSC in May 2019, warned that prolonged conflicts in the Middle East had an impact on regional and global peace and stability.

“UNSC must be able to produce real progress in resolving the issue of Middle East, especially Palestine,” said FM Retno in a written statement received by MINA, Thursday.

The briefing was intended to get information about the current situation in the Middle East, including the issues of Palestine, Syria and Yemen.

Through a video conference, the latest developments in the Middle East were delivered by the UN Special Coordinator for Middle East peace process (UNSCO), Nickolay Mladenov, and the United Nations General Commissioner, for Relief and Work for Palestinian Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), Pierre Krähenbühl.

In the briefing, the situation in Palestine was a particular concern to Indonesia. Indonesian FM said since same meeting last January, the situation in the Middle East, especially in Palestine, did not improve, but worsened.

“There was new violence at the beginning of May, closing down while the presence of international organizations in Hebron, and the continued development of illegal settlements on Palestinian land, continued to worsen the humanitarian situation in Palestine,” she said.

Therefore, in the presence of 15 UN Security Council members, FM Retno stressed three important things to note:

First is the importance of providing protection for Palestinian civilians. Indonesian FM said that independent commission’s report earlier this year emphasized the number of human rights violations by occupying country, including violence against the media and health workers in Palestine.

“For this reason, the importance of international protection for Palestinian civil society is emphasized,” she said.

Second is the need to immediately take concrete steps to overcome the humanitarian situation in Palestine. In this context, efforts to improve the economic and social situation of Palestinian people are important.

In this case, Indonesian FM appreciated various programs of UNWRA in improving the humanitarian situation of Palestinian people and Indonesia’s readiness to continue support.

Third, the peace process must be restarted. For this reason, a credible peace process must be established which ensures the equality of all parties in negotiations.

“The new perspective in the peace process does not mean ignoring the applicable international parameters. For Indonesia, there are no other alternatives besides ‘two-state solutions’, “said FM Retno.

The meeting showed Indonesia’s commitment to the peace process in the Middle East, especially the issue of peace in Palestine.

As one of the priority issues for Indonesia’s membership in the Security Council, the struggle of Palestinian people has always been consistently voiced by Indonesia. (T/Sj/P2)

Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)