Indonesia to push sustainable peace agenda during second UNSC presidency in August

As Indonesia gears up to begin its rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in August, it is set to push the agenda of "Advancing Sustainable Peace" amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that poses challenges to world peace.

Foreign minister Retno Marsudi said that Indonesia would raise the motif of "Advancing Sustainable peace", which is in line with the previous year's theme of "Investing in Peace', the Jakarta Post reported on Saturday.

"Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which has taken up most of our energy and attention, let's not forget to continue advancing peace because peace remains essential to our success in handling the pandemic and accelerating economic recovery," said the foreign minister during a press briefing.

Indonesia is scheduled to host three events during its presidency of the Council.

The first meeting on August 6 will discuss the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' inaugural report on combating terrorism and cross-border crime.

The second meeting is scheduled to be held on August 12 to discuss challenges to achieving sustainable peace and seek to unify efforts to attain it during the pandemic.

The third meeting on August 26, will focus on protecting civilians from cyber-attacks.

Indonesia will also conduct at least 14 meetings to discuss peace efforts in various parts of the world. This would include a strategic report on the Islamic State (IS) along with a discussion on the extended mandate of the UN Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and the UN Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM).

Foreign Minister Retno also said that Indonesia would strive to issue two documents during the presidency.

The first document will focus on taking various approaches to handling people who have been alleged to be involved with terror groups while the second will focus on women peacekeepers.

This assumes significance as Indonesia seeks to encourage greater participation of women in peacekeeping efforts along with the integration of gender perspectives into the UN's peacekeeping missions.

-ANI

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