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Indonesia joins global call for ceasefire amid report on 'deteriorated peacefulness'
Thirdty-nine years after the International Day of Peace was declared, a global index on peacefulness shows that conflicts around the world have gained ground amid the pandemic this year.
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A helmet and tje flak jackets of South Africa's 1 Parachute Battalion of the United Nations Peacekeeping Mission are arranged on Feb. 14, 2008, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. (UN Photo/Marie Frechon)
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ndonesia has joined the global peace movement, calling for a ceasefire in all conflict areas around the world in light of the International Day of Peace on Sept. 21, while experts urge more initiatives to bolster peacekeeping efforts.
The Foreign Ministry’s multilateral affairs director general, Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard, said that the government supported the United Nation’s call to halt all conflicts and impose a ceasefire so nations can focus on their COVID-19 responses.
“Indonesia wants to ensure that the peacekeeping efforts we have made together with various countries will not erode as a result of the pandemic, [since this] could potentially spark new conflicts or exacerbate existing ones,” Febrian said on Monday.
Febian's statement underline Indonesia’s stance on maintaining global peace, following its peacekeeping focus during its month-long presidency of the UN Security Council in August.
Read also: Indonesia ends UNSC presidency with focus on peacekeeping
This year marks nearly four decades since the UN General Assembly established the International Day of Peace in 1981. In 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the date as a “day of global ceasefire and nonviolence”.
In a video message posted to his Twitter account @antonioguterreson Monday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that the annual day was devoted to urging warring parties everywhere to lay down their weapons and work toward harmony, reiterating his earlier call for a ceasefire in March.
