The limits of global human rights promotion: Indonesia’s ambivalent roles in the UN Human Rights Council

ABSTRACT

Post-authoritarian Indonesia has emerged as a state advocating human rights values in the Asia-Pacific region. However, its policies in promoting these values at the global level remain limited. This can be seen in Indonesia’s reluctance to strengthen global human rights governance, particularly in the United Nations (UN) Human Rights Council. In addressing the puzzle, this article shows that Indonesia’s standpoint on the global human rights issue does not stem from Indonesia’s search for autonomy from Western values. Rather, it is suggested that Indonesia’s historical memory is behind Indonesia’s reluctance to strengthen global governance dealing with human rights issues. Specifically, Indonesia’s history in protecting its territorial integrity under UN scrutiny during the authoritarian regime (1967-1998) shapes its current approach to the separatist movement in Papua provinces. Moreover, its role as a voice for developing countries, which is an integral part of its historical memory, causes Indonesia to protect abusive regimes.

KEYWORDS:

• Human rights governance
• UN Human Rights Council
• Indonesian foreign policy
• emerging power
• historical memory

Acknowledgements

I would like thank to Lena Rethel and two anonymous reviewers for their comments on the earlier drafts of the article. Farras Rana has helped in proofreading the article.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes on Contributor

Moch Faisal Karim is an Assistant Professor in International Relations at Bina Nusantara University. His research has appeared in the Third World Quarterly, Australian Journal of International Affairs, Pacific Review, Asian Journal of Social Science, European Journal of East Asian Studies, Journal of ASEAN Studies, and Journal of International Migration and Integration. He holds a PhD from the University of Warwick and was previously a Global Challenges Fellow at the Central European University.

ORCID

Moch Faisal Karim http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5444-2141

Notes

1 Interview with an Indonesian diplomat, July 2015.

2 On 28 June 2011 during the 38th Council of Foreign Ministers meeting (CFM) in Astana, Kazakhstan, Organisation of the Islamic Conference changed its name into Organisations of Islamic Cooperation.

3 Interview with senior officials within Directorate of Human Rights and Humanitarian issues, Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, June 2015

4 Interview with Indonesian Member of Parliament from Foreign Affairs and Defence Commission, June 2015.

5 Interview with Senior Diplomat within Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, June 2015

6 Interview with Senior Diplomat within Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Jakarta, July 2015.

7 Interview with former Indonesian foreign policy makers, Jakarta, July, 2015.

8 Senior diplomat within Directorate of Human Rights and Humanitarian issues, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Indonesia, Jakarta, July, 2015.