"We truly appreciate this feat, which demonstrates countries' appreciation and support for Indonesia to continue to become a member of the human rights council," he said at a press conference with his ministry's National Law Guidance Agency (BPHN) in Jakarta on Thursday.
He added that he was grateful for Indonesia's success in securing its sixth term on the council, which will begin in 2024. However, the minister noted, the government still has plenty of work to do to improve the protection and promotion of human rights.
"We are aware that our efforts are not perfect. Hence, we will continue to make improvements," he said.
Minister Laoly noted that the government has been promoting the use of non-judicial approaches to provide justice to victims of gross human rights violations.
"I would like to stress that the government has been investing all-out efforts to improve the enforcement and advancement of human rights through various policies," he said.
He then cited President Joko Widodo's recent decision to issue Presidential Regulation No. 60 of 2023 concerning the national strategy for business and human rights as an example.
Via a digital application called Prisma, companies can now analyze and monitor their compliance with the mandate to meet the standards of human rights, he noted.
"This is part of our efforts to continue to enforce human rights law and improve the protection and promotion of the rights in Indonesia," he said.
Earlier on Tuesday (October 10, 2023), Indonesia officially secured a seat on the council for the 2024–2026 term after receiving 186 votes from 192 UN member states at an election held by the UN General Assembly in New York, the United States.
Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi said that the 186 votes were the highest number of votes that Indonesia has ever received in its history of candidacy for the council.
Indonesia previously served as a member of the UNHRC in the 2006–2007, 2007–2010, 2011–2014, 2015–2017, and 2020–2022 periods.
Translator: Fath Putra, Tegar Nurfitra
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
