VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - Indonesia supported the recent adoption of a United Nations resolution on violence against religious symbols or books that constitute a violation of international law, according to the permanent representative of Indonesia to the UN, Arrmanatha Nasir.

On July 25, 2023, the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution entitled "Promoting Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue and Tolerance in Countering Hate Speech."

The resolution was drafted by Morocco and co-sponsored by 47 countries, including Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines, as Nasir told ANTARA on Wednesday (July 26).

The resolution was adopted in the wake of multiple burnings and desecrations of Qurans in European countries, including a recent incident on June 28, when Salwan Momika, a 37-year-old Iraqi refugee in Sweden, burned pages of the Quran in front of Stockholm’s largest mosque during Eid al-Adha.

The incident drew international outrage from Muslim-majority countries and international organizations, including the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).

"Since the beginning, Indonesia has participated in overseeing the discussion and strengthening the OIC's position and interests in negotiating the draft resolution," Nasir said.

He emphasized that the resolution has become more important amidst the increasingly widespread forms of hate speech against Muslims.

The draft resolution of the General Assembly stated that it strongly deplores "all acts of violence against persons on the basis of their religion or belief, as well as any such acts directed against their religious symbols, holy books, homes, businesses, properties, schools, cultural centers, or places of worship, as well as all attacks on and in religious places, sites, and shrines in violation of international law."

Before the resolution was adopted, some countries proposed an amendment to the text.

Speaking for the European Union, Spain’s representative voiced concern about the reference to violent acts against religious symbols and sacred books as a violation of international law.

She emphasized that although such actions are deeply offensive and disrespectful, they do not constitute a violation of international law. She then proposed eliminating the reference to "in violation of international law."

Meanwhile, some countries expressed support and joined the consensus. The representative of the Russian Federation, for instance, said he condemned the positions of those states that, instead of protecting the right to freedom of religion, are inciting such extremism and protecting extremists from punishment, according to a UN press release.

He then called on European countries to act in a "civilized fashion" and show tolerance and respect for all religions, it added. (Antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Head of the National Food Agency (NFA), Arief Prasetyo Adi, highlighted Indonesia's strategy to address food loss and waste during the United Nations Food Systems Summit (UNFS) +2 Stocktaking Moment in Rome, Italy, on Wednesday (July 26).

In a statement received on Thursday, Adi said that during the summit he emphasized the importance of global collaboration to reduce food loss and waste as well as the risk of food scarcity and malnutrition.

Globally, approximately 14 percent of the food produced is lost between harvest and retail, while an estimated 17 percent of the total global food production is wasted, comprising 11 percent in households, 5 percent in the food service sector, and 2 percent in retail, according to the UN.

Therefore, the Indonesian government continues to work on policy formulation to address food loss and food waste issues effectively, as affirmed by Adi.

He noted that Indonesia has identified several policies to address the issue, including changing behavior, strengthening regulations, optimizing funding for handling food loss and waste, conducting research and development, and preparing a food loss and waste database.

He stated that some strategies to prevent food loss and waste include creating a platform that teams up across sectors involving three groups of actors: the food service industry, such as restaurants and hotels, organizations, and beneficiary groups.

The Indonesian government has provided and facilitated food logistics for the redistribution of surplus food from donors to beneficiaries, particularly to those in need.

A total of 27 tons of surplus food had been distributed to beneficiary groups in Jakarta during the period from December 2022 to February 2023.

"We will expand this (program) to other regions so that this movement continues and has a positive impact on our food security," he remarked.

Based on a study conducted by the Ministry of National Development Planning/National Development Planning Agency (Bappenas) in the 2000-2019 period, Indonesia produced 23 to 48 million tons of food waste per year.

The amount of food waste could have supported 61 to 125 million people, or equal to 29 to 47 percent of the Indonesian population.

Economic losses due to food loss and food waste in Indonesia reached Rp551 trillion (around US$36.6 billion). (Antaranews)

Russia has placed a third official at the International Criminal Court on its wanted list after the ICC accused President Vladimir Putin of war crimes in Ukraine, the state news agency TASS reported on Thursday.

Judge Tomoko Akane was listed as "wanted under an article of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation" in the online database of Russia's interior ministry, but with no mention of her alleged crime.

The ICC issued arrest warrants in March for Putin and his children's commissioner, Maria Lvova-Belova, accusing them of illegally deporting hundreds of children from Ukraine - a war crime.

Russia acknowledges having transferred thousands of children out of Ukraine, but says this has been done exclusively to protect orphans and children abandoned in the war zone.

Russia responded to the ICC warrant three days later by opening criminal cases against ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan and judges who ordered Putin's arrest, including Akane and the Italian Rosario Salvatore Aitala.

Khan and Aitala were placed on Russia's wanted list in May and June respectively.

Akane, a Japanese national, has served as one of 18 judges on the ICC since 2018, according to the court's website. Prior to that, she was Japan's ambassador for international judicial cooperation, and also served as a public prosecutor.

The ICC said it stood by a statement issued in May, after Khan was placed on the list, where it said it was "profoundly concerned about unwarranted and unjustified coercive measures reportedly taken against ICC officials".

It said it would remain "undeterred in the conduct of its lawful mandate to ensure accountability for the gravest crimes of concern to the international community as a whole". (Reuters)

French President Emmanuel Macron warned against "new imperialism" in the Pacific during a landmark visit to the region, denouncing predatory behaviour by big powers in a region where China is extending trade and security ties.

France, which has island territories spanning the Indo-Pacific including French Polynesia, has boosted defence ties with India and other countries in the region as part of a move to counter Chinese influence.

In a speech in Vanuatu, Macron, the first French president to have set foot on the Pacific islands nation since war leader Charles de Gaulle, said France would work "shoulder to shoulder" with states in the region to preserve their independence.

"There is in the Indo-Pacific, especially in Oceania, new imperialism appearing and a power logic which is threatening the sovereignty of many states, the smallest and often the most fragile ones," Macron said, without naming any country.

"The modern world is shaking up the Indo-Pacific's sovereignty and independence. First, because of the predation of big powers. Foreign ships fish illegally here. In the region, many loans with Leonine conditions strangle up development."

Pacific Islands nations are being courted by China, a major infrastructure lender which struck a security pact with Solomon Islands last year, and the United States, which is re-opening embassies closed since the Cold War.

MACRON FOLLOWS AUSTIN

China has been a major infrastructure lender to Pacific Islands nations including Vanuatu over the past decade. Vanuatu's largest creditor is China's EXIM bank, accounting for a third of debt, according to the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Washington has stepped up U.S. Coast Guard patrols and surveillance for illegal fishing in the Pacific islands, after concern at China's naval ambitions.

After Vanuatu, Macron is due to arrive in Papua New Guinea on Thursday evening, hot on the heels of U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, who was there on Thursday.

In May, the U.S. and Papua New Guinea (PNG) signed a defence agreement that sets a framework for Washington to refurbish PNG ports and airports for military and civilian use.

The United States and its allies are seeking to deter Pacific Islands nations from establishing security ties with China, a rising concern amid tension over Taiwan.

Macron's advisers say France can be an "alternative" and help island nations diversify their partnerships without becoming too reliant on one single country. (Reuters)