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Indonesia wants stronger UN peacekeeping
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Stronger commitment – Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi (right), accompanied by her deputy, AM Fachir, attends a hearing at the House of Representatives in Senayan, Central Jakarta, on Aug. 31. (Antara/Sigid Kurniawan)
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ndonesia is calling for a more outstanding role to be played by UN peacekeepers as the government reiterated its commitment to give the program stronger support during a ministerial meeting at UN headquarters in New York, US, on Wednesday.
Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said it was necessary to transform the nature of the UN Peacekeeping mission from having a reactive role to promoting more preventive measures and creating conducive conditions for the world’s continuous development.
"It is important to take measures to integrate conflict prevention, peacemaking and peace building to ensure sustainable peace is reached," the minister said in a meeting on UN Peacekeeping operations she co-hosted with her Finnish, Rwandan and Uruguayan counterparts.
Retno further highlighted the importance for countries in the world to ensure that UN peacekeepers had adequate resources for their missions. The role of women must also be integrated in every step and aspect of a mission, including in the peaceful settlements of disputes, conflict prevention and resolution, she said.
The minister reiterated Indonesia's commitment to deploy 4,000 peacekeepers by 2019, as stipulated in the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2015-2019. The country is currently the 10th largest contributor to the Peacekeeping Forces among the 124 contributing countries, with 2,867 personnel deployed on 10 missions.
"Indonesia's commitment toward efforts to create and maintain peace, as well as maintain security, until today shows that Indonesia is a true partner for peace," Retno said. In the meeting, she conveyed a plan for Indonesia to host a forum in November to discuss challenges faced by the UN Peacekeeping mission. (ebf)
