By Manal Abdel Fattah
In response to a request from the International Court of Justice, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi will deliver an oral statement in support of the International Court’s advisory opinion on the Israeli occupation of Palestine on February 19.
In order to prepare this statement, the Secretary of State requested contributions from international law experts, and the presentation was made through a discussion entitled “Advisory Opinion and Legal Advice in the International Court: Efforts to Support Palestine’s Independence Through the Enforcement of International Law” at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs office in Jakarta.
In her remarks, Foreign Minister Retno conveyed that experts’ opinions and input are necessary to develop a comprehensive legal opinion to show the world Israel’s violations of international law.
She added: “Indonesia supports the efforts of the United Nations General Assembly to obtain advisory opinion and legal advice from the International Court of Justice, and international law must be applied and the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination must be respected,” adding that “Israel’s occupation of Palestine, which has continued for more than 70 years, will not cancel the right of the Palestinian people.” In independence.
She continued: As is known, the United Nations General Assembly requested an advisory opinion and legal advice from the International Court of Justice regarding the legal consequences of Israel’s policies and actions in the occupied Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, and the General Assembly submitted this request to the International Court of Justice on January 17, 2023.
She added that, in response to this request, Indonesia decided from the beginning that it would participate actively to help submit legal views to the International Court of Justice, as Indonesia’s contribution consists of two things, namely: first, written interventions or a written statement, which was submitted to the International Court of Justice in July 2023, and secondly, an oral statement will be made by the Indonesian Foreign Minister on 19 February 2024 before the International Court of Justice.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs said that various Israeli policies, such as annexing Palestinian lands, settlements in the West Bank, and changing the status of the city of Jerusalem, are invalid according to international law, and Israel’s illegal actions must stop and be held accountable for the legal violations that occur, and countries must stop supporting Israel, and the international community, including the United Nations, must not recognize the legitimacy of Israeli actions.
The Foreign Minister added, “Indonesia’s appearance before the International Court of Justice will complement the various diplomatic steps and efforts taken by Indonesia to support Palestine.”
She noted that in the three months since the outbreak of the conflict, Indonesian diplomacy has not remained silent and continues to mobilize support for the Palestine issue, with Foreign Minister Retno speaking twice before the Security Council and the United Nations General Assembly. The Minister of Foreign Affairs also spoke at other international forums such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the World Health Organization, the Human Rights Council, and the Global Refugee Forum. Indonesian diplomats also expressed their support for the Palestine issue and mobilized it in various forums and countries. Meanwhile, Indonesia sent humanitarian aid to Palestine.
She added: President Jokowi directly headed the Indonesian delegation to the joint summit between the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and the Arab League that discussed the Palestinian issue last November, and one of the summit’s decisions was to authorize the Indonesian Foreign Minister, along with several other OIC foreign ministers, to mobilize international support to encourage a ceasefire. Fire and the peace process.
She continued that, in implementing the resolution, the Committee of Foreign Ministers engaged in diplomacy and specifically met with high-level officials from the five permanent member states of the United Nations Security Council, at the level of heads of government and foreign ministers.
Retno said: “We see that the number of countries supporting the Palestinian decision is increasing in the United Nations, while the number of countries opposing and abstaining from voting is decreasing, and internal pressures on influential countries are also increasing.”
She added that at the end of last year, the United Nations Security Council was finally able to adopt a humanitarian resolution on Palestine, but all of this is not enough, and for Indonesia, a ceasefire is necessary and will change the rules of the game to resolve the Gaza issue.
