Indonesia Calls for ‘Global Response’ as UN Adopts Resolution on COVID-19

United Nations Assembly Room (Photo: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

Indonesia, together with Ghana, Liechtenstein, Norway, Singapore and Switzerland, has successfully passed a resolution on global solidarity in the fight against COVID-19.

The resolution, titled “Global Solidarity to Fight COVID-19”, was passed by the UN General Assembly by acclamation on Thursday (2/4) in New York and became the first UN resolution on COVID-19 since the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the disease as a global pandemic on 11 March.

“The resolution highlighted a political message on the importance of unity, solidarity, and global cooperation to deliver a precise and collective response toward the COVID-19 pandemic,” Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Retno Marsudi said in a press release.

According to the Minister, there is no country that is immune to the virus, which have caused thousands of deaths worldwide.

Retno went on to say that the UN as a “universal organization” plays a pivotal role in coordinating a global response and that the UN must be able to give hope to the global communities that every country will be able to handle the crisis with cooperation, solidarity and effective policy.

The role of the UN, she added, has been reflected in the resolution, including calling world countries to contain the spread of the virus, as well as to mitigate the impacts of the disease through exchange of information exchange, research cooperation, and good governance from every country in handling the pandemic.

The resolution also emphasized the leadership of the WHO in coordination with international communities, as well as appreciation to healthcare workers, health professionals and researchers that are relentlessly doing their job under a difficult situation, she added.

In the meantime, Indonesian Permanent Representative to the UN Dian Triansyah Djani said: “As many as 188 countries co-sponsor the resolution. It is a significant number and is the first in the UN history.”

Dian added that even during a pandemic, Indonesian diplomacy in the UN is still ongoing and the UN is still doing its job, while underlining that the resolution has been voted virtually as New York had imposed a state lockdown.

Data from the WHO as of 3 April 2020 reported that more than 900,000 cases of COVID-19 have been confirmed worldwide with more than 45,693 fatalities.

For the record, Indonesia is one of the member countries that is active in promoting health diplomacy. The country is chairing Foreign Policy and Global Health Initiative – a multilateral forum that discusses and initiates health issues and its political policies. The forum consists of Brazil, Norway, France, Senegal, Thailand, and Indonesia.

Indonesia is also a member of the WHO Executive Board, which deals with policies and work agenda of the organization. (Ministry of Foreign Affairs/EN)

Translated by: Estu Widyamurti
Reviewed by: M. Ersan Pamungkas