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n the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly (UNGA), Indonesia and several other countries have argued for a more transparent, effective, inclusive, accountable and efficient UN to the new UN secretary-general.

Foreign Minister Retno LP Marsudi said Thursday a five-point recommendation statement entitled UN70 Initiative, or UN70, invited the new secretary-general and others to put the prevention of conflict as the UN’s main objective in the area of peace and security.

“The UN has done much to maintain security, peace and welfare in the world. But there are still plenty of things that need to be done by the UN in the future,” she said in a statement issued by the Foreign Ministry.

The initiative calls for the following: strong and impartial leadership that shows independence, accountability and integrity; conflict prevention as the UN’s main objective in the realm of peace and security; the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Paris Climate Agreement; better coordinated UN support and deeper partnerships; new approaches to effectively responding to humanitarian needs while strengthening prevention, protection and resilience; and respect for human rights and reducing the implementation gap.

The UN70 was proposed by Norwegian Foreign Minister Borge Brende in February 2015. Alongside Indonesia and Norway, Colombia, Ethiopia, Ghana, Jordan, Mexico and Uruguay also support this initiative.

The initiative aims to evaluate the various things that have been achieved by the UN in its first 70 years and to describe the challenges the UN is currently facing and how it can be made to work more effectively.

Earlier on Wednesday, Retno said Indonesia was highly committed to UN peacekeeping missions.

She said previously that it was important to change the nature of peacekeeping operations, from “reaction-minded” operations to operations that focus on prevention.

“It is important to take some action to integrate conflict prevention, peacemaking and peace-building to ensure the achievement of sustainable peace,” she said at the UNGA’s ministerial meeting on Wednesday as quoted in the Foreign Ministry’s press release.

She said Indonesia was consistently working to provide quality and professional peacekeepers to UN peacekeeping missions.

Presently, the country deploys around 2,800 personnel on peacekeeping operations.

“Indonesia is also committed to increasing the number of peacekeeping personnel in accordance with the The Roadmap for 4000 Peacekeepers by 2019,” the press release stated.

Indonesia also plans to host a meeting in November to discuss the challenges faced by the UN in maintaining peace. “Indonesia is a true partner for peace,” Retno said.

Vice President Jusuf Kalla is attending the UNGA, which runs until Sept. 29 in New York, to launch Indonesia’s campaign as a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) non-permanent member in 2017 and 2018.

Indonesia is eyeing a seat that will be left vacant by Kazakhstan. Previously, Indonesia served as a non-permanent member from 1974-1975, 1995-1996 and 2007-2008.

By becoming a UNSC member, Indonesia is optimistic it can help promote world peace.

Retno also attended a meeting between ASEAN foreign ministers with outgoing UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon and UNGA president Peter Thomson on Thursday. (vny)