Statement
by
H.E. Adiyatwidi Adiwoso A
Deputy Permanent Representative Permanent Mission
of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations
Before the Plenary 59th Session of the United Nations General Assembly
on Agenda item 40 :
“Follow-up to the outcome of the special session on children
“
New York, 27 October 2004
Mr. President,
On behalf of my delegation, let me first of all applaud the UN Secretary-General
for his report on progress achieved in realizing the commitments set
out in the document “A world fit for children”. Indonesia
shares the view that our current progress in building a world fit
for children is a major step in fulfilling the commitments made at
the Millennium Summit. Owing to the very high potential of effective
investments in the fields of health, education, and protection of
children to produce significant contributions to broad-based poverty
reduction and socio-economic progress, it is therefore true to say
that the agenda to build a world fit for children is an extension
of the commitment to achieve the MDGs.
Indonesia also welcomes the reports of those countries that have chosen
to incorporate the goals and commitments of “A world fit for
children” into other national policies and planning instruments,
such as poverty reduction strategies, national development plans and
sector plans, including multi-sector approaches.
Mr. President,
Indonesia would be pleased to share her experiences in this regard.
Indeed, “A world fit for children" serves as a framework
reference for the Government of Indonesia to promote national development
planning for children and child rights-based programs. On that basis,
legislative and administrative measures have been taken and various
elements of the society have been involved in the implementation of
relevant national action plans in order to create a healthy and conducive
environment for the development of children in Indonesia.
The most significant national developments to follow the United Nations
special session on children have been the promulgation of Law No.
23 of 2002 on Child Protection in October 2002 and the establishment
of a National Committee on Child Protection. The Committee’s
main responsibility is to ensure the implementation of the law through
monitoring and evaluation measures.
Last July, in commemoration of National Children’s Day, former
President Megawati Soekarnoputri launched the National Program for
Children in Indonesia 2015, in line with the targets and goals of
the MDGs. The program covers the key issues of child health and nutrition,
children and HIV/AIDS, early childhood care and development, basic
nine-year education, and child protection. Simultaneously, the former
President also signed the inauguration of various national campaigns
on Education for All; (Provision of Birth Certificates); and No-Smoking
in School Areas.
Mr. President,
Allow me now to share with you some of the progress being made and
the challenges affecting key thematic areas pertinent to the advancement
of our children’s welfare.
On health issues, targets for the next 5 years are geared to the government’s
vision of achieving a “Healthy Indonesia” by 2010. The
targets include, among others, reducing mother and infant mortality;
reducing the prevalence of malnutrition for under five-year-olds;
increasing sanitation facilities and the supply of clean water; and
combating HIV/AIDS through the 2003-2007 National Strategy.
On the education issue, Indonesia’s Law no. 20/2003 on the National
Education System underlines the paramount importance of education
in the overall development program of Indonesia. The law stipulates
the considerable budget allocations that have to be made to support
the nine-year compulsory education program in order to enhance the
quality of basic education and provide financial support for low-income
families to send their children to school.
On the issue of child abuse, various policy measures have been taken
to address this scourge both at national and regional levels. Currently,
Indonesia is implementing three National Action Plans on the Elimination
of the Worst Forms of Child Labor; Commercial Sexual Exploitation
of Children; and Trafficking in Women and Children.
Fully aware of the trans-border characteristic of such issues, the
Indonesian Government, in close collaboration with the International
Organization of Migration (IOM) and with the participation of its
neighbors in the region, notably the ASEAN countries and Australia,
organized last February the Batam Conference and endorsed a series
of concerted actions to combat widespread commercial sexual exploitation
of children in the region.
Mr. President,
In Geneva last January, the Indonesian Government conducted a dialogue
with the Committee on the Rights of the Child to consider Indonesia’s
second periodic report. The dialogue was extremely fruitful and productive.
Knowing the overriding importance of that dialogue for continued progress
in implementing the various commitments of the Convention, several
recommendations and observations made by the Committee were taken
into consideration and integrated into national strategies in line
with Indonesian policies on children.
Mr. President,
At the regional level, my delegation
would like to reaffirm its commitments to the Bali Consensus - the
outcome of the sixth East Asian and the Pacific Ministerial Consultation
on Children in 2003, and looks forward to actively participating in
the forthcoming meeting in Cambodia early next year. Indonesia is
of the view that regional initiatives do play a significant role in
achieving further progress in realizing a world fit for children.
Mr. President,
Indonesia also shares the analysis that strengths and weaknesses in
the follow-up process vary at all levels and in various aspects. Specific
attention should be given to measures to strengthen synergy between
the goals of the Millennium Declaration and the special session on
children. The strong focus on the goals of the Millennium Declaration
relevant to the lives of children has created a positive synergy with
the goals of “A world fit for children”. The fact that
the Millennium Development Goals benefit from widespread support from
agencies whose mandate is not specifically for children, means that
issues relating to children are now high on the international agenda.
Indonesia is of the view that every country should make maximum use
of such an encouraging ambiance to boost its steps forward in implementing
“A world fit for children” at the national level.
Against this backdrop, Indonesia highly appreciates the significant
contributions of the relevant UN agencies, particularly UNICEF, in
assisting countries to ensure the fulfillment of commitments to their
children. It also calls on those concerned agencies to deepen cooperation
and assistance for sustainable progress. In this context, it is particularly
essential to emphasize the fact that most of the goals of “A
world fit for children” will only achieved if Governments scale
up their efforts both through resource allocation and action at the
political level.
To conclude, Mr. President, since the future of the nation depends
so much on the well-being of its children, the Government of Indonesia
is fully determined to move ahead with the promotion and protection
of the rights of the child and ensure “A World Fit for Children”
is not only an empty promise. While fully aware of the challenges
posed by weaknesses in institutional capacity, budgetary constraints
as well as conflict and instability, we are all obliged to exert ourselves
to convert this promise into reality. In this regard, our newly elected
President in his official statement last week after inauguration emphasized
his commitment to poverty eradication, education and health improvement,
as well as good governance which will clearly create a conducive environment
for the implementation of “A world fit for children” in
Indonesia.
I thank you.
