A gift of trust

Editorial Desk

The Jakarta Post

Publication Date : 24-10-2014

On his second day in office, President Joko Jokowi Widodo received a gift from the UN, said Desra Percaya, Indonesias permanent representative to the UN. Indonesia retained its seat on the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) having been re-elected by UN members to represent Asia, alongside India, Bangladesh and Qatar.

Desra said Indonesias reelection was a real display of trust by the international community in Indonesias human rights protection and promotion, strengthening democracy consolidation, as well as a form of optimism in our new government.

The President seems fully aware of all the expectations being placed upon his skinny frame, regardless of the limitations he may have in addressing issues from A to Z. With regard to human rights, former president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has left him with a contradicting legacy of international recognition of Indonesias progress, and a largely impenetrable wall blocking ways to resolve past and current human rights violations.

Given this highly complex backdrop, Jokowis close supporters have confided that consolidation is Jokowis priority, as he must reach out and embrace the many different parties to find sufficient common ground before setting out his agenda with minimal distraction.

The painfully slow days needed to form his Cabinet are evidence of that difficult first step to start his five years in office.

In resolving human rights, one challenge is gaining enough interest from a public that might press him to move forward, rather than dwell in the past. On human rights, his vision and mission titled Nawacita, one of his citations from founding father Sukarno, states the goal of strengthening the presence of the state, among others by upholding the law through prioritising just settlement of past human rights violations.

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A gift of trust