🇮🇩SugionoIndonesia · UNGA 81 speech

Your Excellency, Halil Rahman, President of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly, Your Excellency, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, Excellencies, Heads of State and Heads of Government, Ministers, distinguished delegates, ladies and gentlemen. Assalamu alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh. Shalom. Salve. Om swastiastu. Namo buddhaya. Rahayu. May peace be upon all of us. 81 years ago, from the ashes of the Second World War, Indonesia and the United Nations were born. We emerge from a world devastated by war with a shared conviction that never again should humanity leave its future to war and division. And we share a founding promise to build a future of peace. For eight decades, We have worked to turn that promise into progress. Nations freed themselves from colonialism. Globalization connected our economy. Technology transformed our societies. And development improves the lives of billions. But progress has never been linear. We have lived through financial crisis, a global pandemic, climate disasters, geopolitical rivalries and conflicts around the world. With every transformation and every crisis, one lesson remains clear. For peace and prosperity to endure, multilateralism must be resilient. It must be able to adapt, to respond, and most importantly, to deliver. Because multilateralism that cannot deliver will lose people's trust. And without trust, multilateralism will never endure. Building resilient multilateralism begins with resilient nations. It starts at home. And Indonesia has long understood this for decades. In the 1960s, Indonesia developed the concept of national resilience to safeguard our identity, to protect our sovereignty and unity, and to sustain our development in the face of challenges and obstacles. At the heart of our resilience are our people. A nation is resilient when families can provide for their households, when farmers can produce when workers can find decent jobs, and when children can learn, grow, and dream about their future. For Indonesia, this means building greater self-sufficiency in food and strengthening our energy security. Most importantly, this also means investing in the future of our people, ensuring our children receive quality education and ensuring our people have access to essential healthcare. At the same time, we are building an economy that can withstand shocks and create opportunities, more jobs, stronger industries, and greater productive capacity. Central to our resilience is our ability to manage differences and preserve our unity.

As a nation of more than 280 million people, Indonesia has learned that diversity is not something to overcome. It is something to manage, respect, and turn into strength. Through democratic participation, dialogue, and respect for differences, we preserve our unity. From Aceh to Papua, From Yangas to Rote, Indonesia is one people. Indonesia is one nation. We also continue to strengthen the promotion and protection of human rights through our national mechanisms and our commitment to international human rights obligations. This goes hand in hand with building our national resilience, because human rights are not only the absence of violence, They are also about ensuring that people have food, education, and healthcare. To our neighbors, friends, and partners, let there be no doubt, Indonesia stands strong today, grounded firmly in democracy, human rights, and the rule of law. And when nations are resilient at home, they have greater capacity to contribute beyond their borders. A food secure Indonesia can contribute more to regional and global food security. A more energy resilient Indonesia can contribute more to the global energy transition. A stronger economy opens greater opportunities for cooperation and shared prosperity. This is how national resilience becomes collective resilience. And this is how resilience helps us advance the SDGs. Mr. President, a resilient nation contributes to a resilient region. Our national resilience will support and complement a region that is stable, peaceful, and predictable. Southeast Asia is home to one of the world's largest productive age populations. It is now the world's fifth largest economy, supported by a large and fast growing digital economy. At the center of this dynamic region is ASEAN. ASEAN brings together nations with different histories, political systems, level of development, and national interest. We do not always agree, but we have made a conscious choice to stay together. And we choose to keep talking, even when agreement is difficult. For almost six decades, ASEAN has managed differences, maintained communication, and continued seeking common ground. This is the strength that comes from ASEAN unity and centrality. It enables us to engage all partners and preserve space for dialogue and cooperation. even as a strategic competition intensifies around us. At the same time, building a resilient region requires the ability to adapt. This is why ASEAN must continue to evolve so that it remains fit for purpose and beneficial for its people and the wider region. Excellencies, resilience at home and at the regional level must be matched by a multilateral system capable of supporting and sustaining it. This is where the United Nations remain indispensable. The United Nations give nations the space to resolve differences without resorting to conflict. It provides common rules when interests compete. And it allows us to combine our capacities when no country can act effectively alone. This is why Indonesia continues to believe in the United Nations. But believing in the United Nations also means believing that it must evolve with the world it serves. Let us be clear that the answer to imperfect multilateralism is not less multilateralism. It is a stronger and better multilateralism. A multilateral system fit for the 21st century must be more representative, more agile and better able to deliver. Institutional transformation will not happen overnight, but the urgency of today's challenges requires us to act now. We must start by strengthening our collective capacity to withstand crisis, responding effectively to global crisis and humanitarian situations, and sustaining peace development and cooperation. At the same time, international financial architecture must also evolve to respond better to the needs of developing countries and to give them greater space to pursue their own development priorities and build their resilience. But stronger institutions alone will not save multilateralism. Institutions are only as strong as the principles we are willing to uphold. International law must be upheld consistently. Sovereignty must be respected. And colonialism must be brought to an end. This is where Palestine remains one of the clearest tests of these principles and the test of our conscience. The clear violation of international law in Gaza and the West Bank are reminiscent of our world pre-1945, a world pre the UN Charter, pre the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and pre the four 1949 Geneva Conventions. A world where a certain race was almost annihilated. Indonesia knows what it means to struggle against colonialism. to struggle in a world where international law was weak and might was right. Our nation's journey to independence has shaped our consistent support for the Palestinian people and their right to determine their own future. Indonesia will continue to stand with the Palestinian people until their right to self-determination is fulfilled and until an independent and sovereign state of Palestine is realized based on the two-state solution in accordance with international law and internationally agreed parameters. Palestine is not only a question for one region. It is a test of whether multilateral system can uphold the very principles it was created to defend and whether it can deliver when it matters most. Mr. President, an effective multilateral system also requires effective leadership. Indonesia's leadership philosophy passed down through generations teaches us that leaders must possess the capability to lead by example from the front, build confidence while standing among the people, and empower from behind. Leadership is not simply about commanding. It is about exercising wisdom and giving others the strength to move forward. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has led this organization through an exceptionally challenging period. wars and geopolitical tensions, a global pandemic, humanitarian emergencies, and rapid technological transformation. Indonesia expresses its appreciation for his leadership and service over the past decade. Throughout these challenges, the UN continues to provide an important platform for dialogue and collective problem solving. The next Secretary-General will carry an equally important responsibility to uphold the Charter, strengthen the Organization, and to translate multilateralism into concrete results for people. Effective leadership must also be accompanied with the full commitment of Member States to make multilateralism work. Indonesia is prepared to carry its share, as our constitution mandates us to contribute to a world based on freedom, lasting peace, and social justice. Through diplomacy and mediation, Indonesia has contributed to resolving conflicts in the region and beyond. We have been among the top-tier contributors to UN peacekeeping missions. deploying personnel to missions around the world since 1957. For nearly two decades, Indonesian peacekeepers have served under the UN flag in Lebanon. UNIFIL may be entering its final chapter, but Indonesia's commitment does not end with the mission. The experience sacrifice, and dedication of our peacekeepers will continue to shape Indonesia's contribution to international peace and security. We will carry our diplomacy forward through humanitarian assistance, through peace building, and through engagement across regions and institutions. Mr. President, it is in this spirit that Indonesia present its candidature for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for the 2029-2030 term. Our commitment is clear. Fostering unity, advancing peace. Fostering unity means rebuilding trust in the multilateral system and keeping channels of dialogue open. Advancing peace requires us to uphold international law and make effective use of the tools available to us. Indonesia will work to keep dialogue open, build common ground, and turn shared responsibility into practical cooperation. We will uphold the UN Charter consistently to maintain international peace and security. We will bring the same principle that guides our foreign policy to engage with all and keep the space for cooperation open. As President Prabowo Subianto mentioned in his very lecture last year, 1,000 friends are too few and an enemy is too many. The same approach guides Indonesia's engagement with all partners. Through ASEAN, G20, D8, BRICS, MICTA, and the UN, Indonesia will extend the friendship to deliver practical cooperation. Mr. President, 81 years ago, Indonesia fought against colonialism so we could chart our own future. Today, we reaffirm our promise for a future peace we all share. Also, one year ago, President Prabowo Subianto called upon us to draw closer, not drift apart. Today, I carry that call forward, and as we draw closer, Let us also make each other stronger. Strong enough for our nations to withstand crisis, strong enough for our regions to preserve cooperation, strong enough for our institutions to deliver for people. Because resilience is not simply about surviving the storms. It is about having the strength to keep moving forward together. And only through our collective resilience Can the United Nations be strong enough to fulfill the promise we made 81 years ago, a future of peace for generations to come?

I thank you.