VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

VOINews, Jakarta - BNN Head Commissioner General of Police Petrus Reinhard Golose held a bilateral meeting with the Agencia de Renovacion del Territorio (ART) Director Raul Delgado Guerrero to exchange experiences in handling illegal plants.

"ART is a Colombian government agency that has the main task of supporting the Colombian government's program to substitute illegal crops and encourage alternative development for farmers of coca and other prohibited crops," Golose noted in a written statement from National Narcotics Agency (BNN) received in Jakarta, Wednesday.

Colombian ART is in accordance with one of the four strategies of the Indonesian BNN in the war on drugs, namely the soft power approach, Golose remarked.

Golose explained that the soft power approach was conducted through an alternative empowerment program as an effort to empower communities in narcotics-prone areas.

Based on the ART data, he noted that currently, there are 234 thousand hectares of coca fields and 11 thousand hectares of marijuana fields in Colombia.

"ART is currently pushing for the completion of the Programa Nacional de Sustitución de Cultivos de uso Ilícito (National Program of Substitution of Illicit Crops/PNIS) that has helped more than one thousand farming families make the transition from illegal crops to legal crops," Golose remarked.

At a meeting held in Colombia, Monday (Sept 25), Indonesia and Colombia agreed to explore the forming of a letter of intent (LoI) or memorandum of understanding (MoU).

The LoI or MoU is the basis for further cooperation, especially in terms of exchanging data and information to increase the effectiveness of alternative empowerment programs in the two countries. (antaranews)

VOINews, Jakarta - Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA) Minister Bintang Puspayoga, on Tuesday, (September 26), emphasized the need for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to protect children in the region from adverse effects of technology.

"During this era of rapid changes, we should ensure that our children get maximum benefits from digital technology while protecting them from its adverse effects," Puspayoga remarked in her opening speech at the ASEAN Regional Dialogue on Child Online Protection 2023 in Jakarta.

The event, held under Indonesia’s ASEAN chairmanship this year, carries the theme of “Racing Against the Clock: Pushing Forward with Child Online Protection in the ASEAN Region” and focuses on efforts to protect Southeast Asian children, as crucial assets for the region in the future.

"Digital technology has been providing us with considerable convenience, comfort, and benefits. However, we should be aware of its potential of bringing negative impacts," she pointed out.

The minister stated that to protect their children from the increasingly broad, expansive, and aggressive negative contents in the digital space, member countries of ASEAN have affirmed their commitment to combating online child exploitation and abuse.

The commitment takes form in the Declaration on the Protection of Children from All Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse in ASEAN as well as the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action for the Protection of Children from All Forms of Online Exploitation and Abuse.

Moreover, several ASEAN states have formulated essential policies related to the protection of their children, the minister highlighted.

"At the national level, the Indonesian government has long ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and committed to fully guaranteeing the fulfillment of children's rights, including the right to voice their thoughts," she noted.

The PPPA Ministry has formed a Children's Forum at all levels of government to ensure fulfillment of the rights of children, she emphasized.

Furthermore, Minister Puspayoga affirmed that the Indonesian government had been making significant efforts to realize a child-friendly digital space. (Antaranews)

VOInews, Jakarta: Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi emphasized the importance of nuclear weapons destruction to prevent misuse and eliminate threats. She conveyed this when attending the High-Level Plenary Meeting to commemorate the International Day for the Total Destruction of Nuclear Weapons at the UN Headquarters in New York, United States, Tuesday (26/9/2023).

"The only way to prevent the misuse and eliminate the threat of nuclear weapons is to totally and thoroughly destroy them," she said in a statement received by Indonesia Window here.

On that occasion, Retno Marsudi also delivered the ASEAN Joint Statement and the Indonesian government's national statement. According to her, ASEAN continues to be committed to promoting global efforts for disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons.

"However, ASEAN is concerned about the waning commitment of countries to fulfill their obligations," she said.

Therefore, the foreign minister called on countries to comply with and fulfill their obligations to various international treaties, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

The NPT is the main reference for countries in global efforts for nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Therefore, according to the Foreign Minister, strong political will is needed to maintain the integrity and implement the Treaty effectively.

"ASEAN calls on nuclear weapon states to fulfill their commitments and obligations as mandated by the NPT," Retno said.

In addition, Retno emphasized that ASEAN strongly rejects nuclear testing, as stated in the CTBT. According to her, ASEAN calls on countries to comply with the Treaty, and encourages countries that have not signed and ratified this treaty to do so immediately.

"ASEAN remains committed to creating a Southeast Asian region free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction," she said.

Meanwhile, in her national statement, Foreign Minister Retno conveyed the importance of creating a world free of nuclear weapons. Therefore, the total destruction of nuclear weapons must be carried out and must be included in an important global agenda, including through the New Agenda for Peace proposed by the UN Secretary General in strengthening multilateralism and creating peace.

She also reminded the importance of ensuring the right to be able to develop and utilize nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. Therefore, close collaboration is needed in utilizing nuclear technology including for agriculture, health and industry. The utilization of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes will contribute significantly to the achievement of the SDGs by 2030.

"That way, the 'Doomsday Clock' needle does not need to reach midnight," the Foreign Minister concluded her statement.

Indonesia ratified and became a state party to the NPT in 1978 and the CTBT in 2012. Currently, Indonesia is finalizing the ratification process of the TPNW.

The High-Level Plenary Meeting to Commemorate and Promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is held annually to raise public awareness of the threat posed by nuclear weapons and the need for the total elimination of nuclear weapons. (VOI/Andy)

VOINews, Jakarta - Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia Ma'ruf Amin hopes that Indonesian students in Saudi Arabia will not only study religious sciences as has been the case so far. The Vice President's Spokesperson, Masduki Baidlowi, told the media when accompanying the Vice President at the commemoration of the 93rd National Day of Saudi Arabia recently.

He explained that there are several agendas that have been discussed between Vice President Ma'ruf Amin and Saudi Arabia Ambassador to Indonesia Faisal bin Abdullah al Amodi, including the exchange of scholarships for students from both countries.

"The people-to-people relationship has been going on for quite a long time, and one of them is also talking about the vice president's hope for how to exchange scholarships between Saudi Arabia and Indonesia, especially for Indonesians who study in Saudi Arabia, not like what has been happening so far, if what has been happening is that we study religious science there," he said.

Vice Presidential Spokesperson Masduki Baidlowi added that what Vice President Ma'ruf Amin emphasized was that the government of Saudi Arabia accepts scholarships from the Government of Indonesia and Indonesians to study non-religious sciences, such as science and exact sciences. (VOI/SIFA/PNA)