| Statement by
The delegation of Indonesia is pleased to welcome the report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization, which is his annual statement of the response of our Organization to international developments during the year. This report will serve as a good basis for our deliberations on issues of particular importance, especially in the light of the convening of High Level Plenary Meeting next year. The Secretary-General has rightly pointed out that “the UN has been through an extraordinarily challenging year”. It has struggled with an assortment of challenges that include the situation in Iraq, terrorism, increased peacekeeping demands, and humanitarian emergencies. On the eve of the 60th anniversary of the United Nations, our Organization continues to face the menace of poverty, disease and environmental issues. Despite this, we are pleased that the Organization has continued to be involved in trying to improve the condition of peoples around the world, in the implementation of The Charter. It is gratifying that no matter the difficulties, the United Nations continues to be regarded as playing a central role in maintaining and building international peace and security. The report of the Secretary-General attests favorably to this character. Mr. President, Next year is the five-year review of the Millennium Declaration and other recent major United Nations summits and conferences. Indonesia shares the view that efforts to achieve the MDGs will succeed only if developed and developing countries institute the right combination of national and international policies, and implement their shared commitments as set out in the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus on financing for development and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation on sustainable development. It is noteworthy that the Report of the Secretary-General highlights the holistic approach with which the Organization has assisted vulnerable groups such as women, children, youth, refugees and Internally-Displaced Persons, and people living with HIV/AIDS and migrants. These efforts are imperative in helping Member States achieve the MDGs, in particular, by better coordinating and strengthening all agencies to connect the Goals to national policies and strategies. With regard to HIV/AIDS, the Report
states that United Nations agencies have embarked on strengthening
and coordinating their efforts at the country level. We believe that
coordinated action and a unified United Nations policy and program
support at the country level will contribute to the efforts to reverse
the rapid spread of HIV/AIDS. We however share the concern expressed
by the Secretary-General that resources needs to be increased substantially
to enable countries meet the goals set at the Special Session of the
General Assembly on HIV/AIDS. Mr. President, While we seek, and must continue to seek the effectiveness of the United Nations in the execution of its mandate, we are all conscious of the point that as an Organization, it must begin by being efficient in its methods and strong in its structures. For too long, the reform of the United Nations has not moved much beyond rhetoric. However, it is reform – not rhetoric – that can position our Organization to perform at its best. The objective of this reform must be to enhance multilateralism, which is the only vehicle by which the complex challenges before us today can be resolved. It is also the only way that the authority, legitimacy and credibility of the United Nations can continue to be respected throughout the world. We must enhance the authority and role of the General Assembly as the Organization’s chief deliberative, policy-making and representative organ that it was designed to be. Its relationship with the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) needs to be strengthened, with a view to ensuring increased cooperation, coordination and complimentarily of the work programmess of these three organs in accordance with their Charter mandates. Indeed, we must make the Security Council more democratic by broadening its membership to realign with the geopolitical realities of our time, not post-war 1945. We must go further in this process by courageously facing related issues, as permanent membership and the veto, in order for us to have a representative, democratic, transparent, relevant and effective Council. Similarly, the reform must go far enough to ensure that the role and authority of ECOSOC, as provided for in The Charter, is not only protected, but strengthened. This will enable ECOSOC to play its assigned role, and be of principal value as a multilateral tool for social and economic progress and development. Mr. President, In our view, a ready source of support
and assistance for the United Nations as it seeks to resolve these
issues multilaterally are the regional organizations. We believe that
strong working partnerships with these organizations will go a long
way to complementing and extending efforts of the United Nations.
At the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), we believe
that a network of these regional associations working with the United
Nations would give a significant boost to the concept of multilateralism. Permit me also to mention, in this connection, the New Strategic Partnership with the continent of Africa that Asia is promoting in the framework of South-South cooperation. This is the Asian-African Sub-Regional Organisations Conference (AASROC). The Partnership will formally be launched in Bandung, Indonesia, in 2005 in conjunction with the commemoration of the golden jubilee of the 1955 Asia-Africa conference. We believe such structural partnerships can lead to more effective fulfilment of such multilateral objectives as the MDGs and complimentary to various initiatives in particularly NEPAD. On the subject of terrorism, Mr. President, let me restate that terrorism can be defeated, but the approach to seeking that victory must be multilateral and democratic. Efforts must be made to bring along all the nations of the world, because in the end, peace and security is a basic desire of every man and woman. It is also important that the offensive against terrorism is done with respect for human rights and rule of law. Finally, I want to express the appreciation of my delegation to the Secretary-General and the staff of the United Nations Secretariat for this report, and the work that they continue to do in support of peace and development. I thank you Mr. President.
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