Nuclear free zones

Indonesia strongly supports nuclear-free zones and first proposed one in Southeast Asia along with Singapore in the mid-1980s. As a party to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone (SEANWFZ, or the Bangkok Treaty), Indonesia is committed to not conducting or giving or receiving assistance in the research, development, manufacture, stockpiling, acquisition, possession or control of any form of nuclear weapon. Indonesia will not threaten to use a nuclear weapon against any state party to the treaty or within the zone, nor will it discharge nuclear wastes into the sea or the atmosphere of the zone. Indonesia believes that the accumulation of nuclear weapons in Southeast Asia is a threat to the stability of the region and encourages all parties to the Bangkok treaty to take all necessary steps to gain US support for the protocol.
—Casey Westlake, Ohio University, 2004.

The struggle against terrorism

Indonesia condemns the September 11th, 2001 attacks on the United States as barbaric and inhumane. Indonesia supports the United States in its peaceful and diplomatic efforts to combat terrorism around the globe. As member of ASEAN, combating terrorism in the region is a national priority to Indonesia. However, Indonesia finds attempts to link terrorism solely to Islam as unfounded and insidious. We encourage our fellow Islamic States to show the Western world the “true face” of Islam as a religion of peace and love, and to end the dissemination of prejudices that have so adversely affected the Muslim world in recent years. Indonesia acknowledges the possibility of prescience of terrorist cells within its borders and is attempting to swiftly eliminate this threat; but wishes to accomplish this without foreign aid or intervention. Indonesia will not agree to any resolutions that discriminate against nations solely on the basis of religion or to any resolution that will abridge the self-determination of Islamic states.
—Casey Westlake, Ohio University, 2004.

HIV/AIDS

Although Indonesia has a low HIV/AIDS population, it still believes that this is a threat to national sovereignty that should be dealt with through multilateral action. Indonesia advocates a resolution to provide greater medical, economic, and peace-keeping aid to nations where AIDS is an epidemic. Indonesia also advocates the increase of WHO funding of medical research to find a cure or better treatment for this condition. As the AIDS epidemic causes strife and destruction among a young generation around the world, the future of international security is dependent on finding a solution to this problem.
—Casey Westlake, Ohio University, 2004.

Rights of female refugees

Increasingly, today’s political conflicts end in wars, which are inevitably accompanied by the degradation of human rights, especially for women. Indonesia itself has hosted thousands of refugees from East Timor, and does not wish to see other parts of the world facing the same problems. Although the war in Iraq has not produced as many refugees as expected, the current volatile situation there and around the world cannot be allowed to continue. During military conflicts, many men are taken away by the government leaving the women, elderly and children helpless in the hardship caused by war. Therefore, Indonesia expresses outrage at the ongoing situation and the killing of female refugees around the world. Furthermore, Indonesia strongly encourages the United Nations to take up the responsibility for this matter and urges it to cooperate with the local government to protect these populations. We must not ignore the rights of these female refugees and must ensure their security or risk compromising the United Nation’s Declaration of Human Rights.
—Chadarat Catherine Monthienvichienchai, Ohio University, 2004.

Right to decent standard of living

In addition to the impact on the population, violent conflicts have often led to the degradation of many countries’ economies and standards of living. Indonesia suggests that in this matter we should focus first on the well-being of the population. We are well aware that Indonesia has problems of its own, and we continue to call upon the UN for assistance. Indonesia believes that the UN, in cooperation with local governments, should initiate programs to increase employment and guarantee a satisfactory minimum wage in each of the member states. Moreover, Indonesia urges a program where the children of each country will be guaranteed a respectable level of minimum education, health care services, and shelter, where all three are basic human rights that all should be entitled to.
—Chadarat Catherine Monthienvichienchai, Ohio University, 2004.

Food security through international co-operation

Undoubtedly, recent wars have caused multiple problems but most local agencies tend to overlook daily basic issues, such as providing food. Although Asian countries have made much progress in overcoming the issue of hunger within their own borders, many African countries and those recently affected by a state of war lag far behind. Indonesia has contributed to Action against Hunger which expresses our great concern about the situation and the lack of any perspective by the military and local authorities in finding solutions to the problems, and encourages others to do the same. Indonesia also proposes, as one of the solution to this problem, that the UN’s Food and Agricultural Organization should ensure that the food that has been produced and contributed by the member countries have actually reached the intended recipient through international cooperation. Furthermore, the UN should also follow up on the convoys in order to reduce the looting of food by armed elements and make certain that no innocents should be hungry, even in a state of war, as per the Declaration of Human Rights.
—Chadarat Catherine Monthienvichienchai, Ohio University, 2004.

Disclaimer: The content provided on this page represents student scholarship pertaining to the individual's participation in the Dayton Model United Nations Conference (DAYMUNC) and should NOT be construed as the official policy of any sovereign state or nongovernmental organization.