Foreign Minister Retno: Failure Of Multilateralism Has A Significant Impact, Strength Dominates Justice

Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi while attending the G20 meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. (Source: Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi said the failure of multilateralism would have a significant impact, stressing three things to improve multilateralism related to the current global situation.

This was conveyed by Foreign Minister Retno while attending the G20 Foreign Ministers Meeting which was held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, United States on Wednesday.

In her speech, Foreign Minister Retno expressed her concern about the signs of increasing multilateralism failure, including global governance divisions, declining trust between countries, and the inability of the international system to respond to new challenges.

"The failure of multilateralism will have a significant impact and have the potential to bring the world to a time when power dominates justice," said Foreign Minister Retno, in a statement from the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Thursday, September 26.

Furthermore, Foreign Minister Retno highlighted the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Palestine as a concrete example of the fragility of the current multilateral system.

Genocide in Gaza and rising tensions in the Middle East, according to Foreign Minister Retno, are a reminder of the urgency of international law enforcement and respect for human rights consistently and without double standards.

"We must not allow what happened in Ukraine, in Gaza, in the West Bank and in Lebanon to become a new (international) norm," said Foreign Minister Retno.

However, Foreign Minister Retno remains optimistic that multilateralism can still be improved.

"The role of the G20 is strategic to restore trust in multilateral systems and strengthen global governance which is inclusive and fair," said Foreign Minister Retno.

On this occasion, Foreign Minister Retno emphasized three points. First, it is necessary to have better representation in global governance.

He said reforms must be carried out so that this system is more inclusive, representative, and efficient, taking into account the current reality of the world, where Global South countries represent 85 percent of the world's population and have an increasingly large economic contribution.

Second, the importance of advancing strategic trust and justice. Trust can only be restored if the actions taken by developed countries are in accordance with their obligations, especially related to climate funding and sustainable development.

"Real efforts are needed to bridge the gap between global commitments and concrete actions on the ground," he said.

Third, he continued, adaptation to new challenges that arise, including the need for a new framework for digital governance, cyber regulation and artificial intelligence (AI).

"This is important to ensure that technological advances can be enjoyed by all parties, not just a handful of people. In addition, real action in the face of climate change must also be improved," said Foreign Minister Retno.

Foreign Minister Retno added, in this context, Indonesia supports the "G20 Call to Action on Global Governance Reform" which focuses on efforts to modernize global governance to be better prepared to face the challenges of the 21st century, and ensure that the system is fairer and more inclusive for all countries.