REPUBLIKA.CO.ID, JAKARTA -- Indonesia officially began its assignment as the UN Security Council (UNSC) non-permanent member. Permanent Representative Dian Triansyah Djani has unveiled the Red and White flag at the UN Headquarters, New York, the US on Jan 2.

Indonesia's membership in the UNSC is for the period from January 1, 2019, to December 31, 2020, the fourth time for Indonesia since having earlier been a non-permanent member of the UNSC during the 1973-1974, 1995-1996, and 2007-2008 period. At the time of the election of members of the Security Council by all UN member states in June 2018, Indonesia received support in the form of 144 votes from 193 UN member states.

"The magnitude of this support is a form of the international community's trust in the track record of diplomacy and Indonesian foreign policy that is free and active and plays an important role in maintaining world peace," Ambassador Djani noted in a written statement received in Jakarta on Thursday.

As a member of the UNSC, Indonesia, along with 14 other countries -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia, China, Kuwait, South Africa, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Germany, Belgium, Poland, Peru, and the Dominican Republic -- will be part of the policy formulation process to maintain international peace and security in line with its mandate in the UN Charter.

Since January 1, 2019, Ambassador Djani was also handed over the responsibility as chair of the UNSC 1540 Resolution Committee on weapons of mass destruction, the Sanctions Committee related to terrorism, such as the UNSC 1267 Resolution Sanctions Committee. Apart from this, it will chair the 1988 UNSC Resolution Sanctions Committee.

Indonesia will also be deputy chair of the Sanctions Committee for South Sudan and the Sanctions Committee on Iraq.

Among the 15 UNSC members during the 2019-2020 period, Indonesia is the largest contributor of troops to the UN Security Mission. Hence, Indonesia will pay attention to increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the UN Peacekeeping Operations, in addition to other global issues.

Apart from Indonesia, other UN member states -- South Africa, Belgium, the Dominican Republic, and Germany -- also began their membership term at the UNSC in the same period.

These countries will replace the non-permanent member states of the UNSC -- Kazakhstan, Bolivia, Ethiopia, the Netherlands, and Sweden -- whose terms of office ended on December 31, 2018.

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