Jakarta (ANTARA) - Indonesian Foreign Affairs Minister Retno Marsudi reminded the UN Security Council that it has the mandate to maintain international peace and security, not to tolerate war and genocide like the one occurring in Palestine.

“My question to the UNSC is (that) how many resolutions regarding Palestine have been adopted? And how many have been implemented?” the minister questioned the UN Security Council on Wednesday (Tuesday, January 23, New York time).

Marsudi conveyed her statement after speaking at a United Nations Security Council open debate on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, which was monitored online.

The minister addressed this matter to the UN Security Council, as Indonesia observed that several resolutions had been violated regarding Palestine, but there had never been any sanctions for the perpetrators.

Marsudi also questioned where Palestine should complain if the UN Security Council failed to implement their own resolutions for decades, where Israel can freely slaughter Palestinians.

“Israel must be held accountable for its actions, including atrocities in Gaza. No country is above the law," Marsudi emphasized.

On the occasion, the minister urged the UN Security Council members to immediately end the worsening situation in Gaza and the West Bank.

The UN Security Council consists of 10 countries, with five of them being permanent members having veto power that can overturn any Security Council attempt to pass any resolution.

The five countries with veto rights are the United States, Britain, France, Russia, and China.

Marsudi then drew attention to the fact that more than 25 thousand Palestinians had been killed during the genocide and more people experienced starvation and cold weather conditions, as the UN Security Council was slow to act.

"Once again, all of us have a responsibility to respect International Humanitarian Law without exception, including (in responding to) the situation in Gaza," she affirmed.

The UNSC open debate was the third to be held in the last three months to respond to Israeli aggression in Gaza since October 7, 2023.

The Indonesian government declared Marsudi's participation as proof of Indonesia's commitment in supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip after a cross-border attack by the Palestinian militant group, Hamas, which Israeli authorities say killed 1,200 people.

At least 25,295 Palestinians, mostly women and children, were killed as a result of Israeli attacks while 63 thousand others were injured, according to Palestinian health authorities.

Israel's aggression has also displaced 85 percent of Gaza's population amid shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 percent of the infrastructure in the enclave had been damaged or destroyed, according to the United Nations.


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Translator: Yashinta Difa P, Resinta Sulistiyandari
Editor: Tia Mutiasari
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