WW: Indonesia’s Presidency for United Nations Security Council

May is indeed super special this year.

This is the month when the holy mont of Ramadhan starts, as well as Indonesia’s Presidency for United Nations Security Council.

Yes, Indonesia is the President of the United Nations Security Council for the month of May.

As you might know, Indonesia is elected as one of the Non-Permanent Members of the UN Security Council for 2019 - 2020. As stipulated in the rules of procedures, we are becoming the President of  UN Security Council in May, based on the alphabetical order rotation of all 15 Permanent and Non-Permanent members of this august body. Starting from the first of May, we took over the presidency.

Our Minister for Foreign Affairs, H. E. Retno Marsudi, chaired the series of first meeting during our presidency.

And you know why it's even more special?

We have delegations as well the UN Secretary General, Mr. Antonio Guterres, wore Batik and Tenun, the traditional fabrics of Indonesia.

Coming in varieties of patterns and colors, all those classic Batik are perfectly donned by ambassadors and head of delegations at the Security Council that day. 

As an Indonesian myself and avid lover of Wastra Nusantara or Indonesian traditional fabrics, I am super proud to see Batik was elegantly worn by Head of Delegations at the Security Council during the signature event of Indonesia on Peacekeeping, headed by H.E. Retno Marsudi, our one and only Foreign Minister.

The UN Security Council was chaired by Indonesian FM

Series of meetings and activities have been and will be conducted, including open debates on Peacekeeping and later on Protection of Civilians in Armed Conflict; Investing in Peace Photo Exhibition; and Arria Formula meeting on Palestine. I will be joining the meeting   in NYC on the third week of May as well

The photo exhibition

This is Indonesia for the world 🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩🇮🇩 .

all pictures are taken by my colleague 📷 : @hpra76 .

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Ramadhan is here! 

And we are so blessed to be able to meet this holy month again. My family and I went back to Lampung again for some errands as well as paying homage to our big family. It becomes sort of a tradition in many part of Indonesia that before Ramadhan starts, we visit our family as well as the graves of those members of family who have passed away. Ziarah or visiting the graves of our relatives is often done days before we start fasting and later on the D-Day or the Eid-il Fitr or Lebaran.

Back to Lampung before Ramadhan

We visited around 10 relatives' graves, starting from my father, our grandparents as well as uncles and aunties and other extended families. They buried in different cemeteries so we went to around 4 different places.

Visiting my late grandma, who passed away in 2018 when we were in NYC

It was such solemn moments when, after all those years being away from home, we no longer meet our grandparents or extended families but on their graves. I lost my grandma and my uncle in 2018, when my hubby lost his dad in the beginning of 2018 as well. 

I also visited my dearest Papa's grave.
I miss him so much and Ramadhan always reminds me of him.
All those great memories come pouring in and I can't help but smile and wish he enjoyed Allah's heaven. He is always in my prayers.

Again, the best thing we can do at this point now is to send prayers to them and hope that they have wonderful after-life in heaven.

Nenek or my grandma's grave..

Meanwhile, on a lighter note, we went back to the snorkeling spot in Lampung on the last days before Ramadhan. We obviously had tons of fun! Never get enough of Sari Ringgung Beach and its snorkeling spots.

At Mahitam Island..

This time we ventured to Mahitam Island as well, slightly different from the previous islands, Tegal Mas and Tegal Perak. We snorkeled in two different spots and this time we saw many jelly fish. Well, apparently it's the season and we really had to be careful not to touch this graceful yet dangerous creature. Stay away from its tentacles.

My hubby and my daughter enjoying the crystal clear water

We bid farewell to the beack around dusk, beautiful orange-and-purple sky really melt our heart. Sunset on the beach will always be heartwarming. 

As we are ready to enter the holy month with a pure heart, the masterpiece of our Creator, -the sunset - is a vivid reminder of His great creation. May we all have a wonderful and blessed month, filled with joy, peace, and tranquilty.

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And after the first sholat tarawih, the additional sholat done only in Ramadhan, in the mosque near our house in Lampung, we headed back to Jakarta as office starts at usual in the following Monday.

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WW: Marhaban ya Ramadhan

Have a blessed Ramadan

The blessed month of Ramadhan is here.
Alhamdulillah..

My family and I are so excited to welcome the sacred month that is better than 1000 months for us. 

Saya tidak hentí-hentinya bersyukur karena Gusti Allah SWT selalu berbaik hati memberikan kesempatan kepada kami untuk kembali menikmati indahnya Ramadhan. Bulan paling baik untuk kembali melihat apa yang telah kita lakukan di 11 bulan sebelumnya. Bulan paling istimewa untuk memohon ampunan dan ridha-Nya, untuk semua alpa yang telah diperbuat dan kesalahan serta keburukan yang kerap mewarnai hari-hari. Malu rasante jika ingat betapa diri penuh dosa dan alpa, tapi kami yakin Allah SWT Maha Pengampun dan Maha Segala. 

And that's why we should do our outmost to repent.
It is never too late to repent and "whatever you have of favour, it is from Allah" ~ Quran (16:53)

So, to all my dearest family, friends, and colleagues wherever you are..

WISHING YOU ALL A BLESSED RAMADHAN

May Allah SWT shower us with continued blessing, peace, and joy during this holy month.

Women, Peace, and Security Regional Training - A Reflection

What do you have in mind when you hear the word WOMEN?

Do you think of your mom? 
Yourself or your sister and your female friends?
Do you think about all those incredible ladies who broke the barriers?
Ibu Kita Kartini, for example.
Or Marie Curie, Shirley Jackson, and Grace Hopper? 

Do you think about beautiful and elegant persons, famous for their beauty and brain?
Do you think about a multitasking individual, who can perform various tasks naturally?
Those who have given birth, raised children, contributed to their families and communities?
Those who are so close to us and part of our day-to-day live. 

Now, how about women, peace and security?
What do you have in mind?

The first panel on Women, Peace and Security Seminar

Do you think of all those fearless female ministers and diplomats?
Or rather women police or female negotiators?
Or perhaps your mom again, as she indeed a peacemaker at home?

To many of us, the concept of women, peace and security is indeed intriguing.
Being a woman myself, I do believe that women play important roles in sustaining peace, be it in the smallest scale like family, to a wider scope like society, countries as well as international fora. There are times when women were not included in any discussions regarding peace and people's welfare. It's the man's world out there..and sadly, women were out of the pictures in terms of decision - making process. 

Saying hi from PMPP - Center for Peacekeeping Mission

But then, if well take a closer look at so many conflicts in many parts of the world, women and children are always be at the vulnerable position. Many of them are even the fallen victims, firstly. Be it through the horrifying sexual violence, to abuse and murder. Even rape has been use as the tools of terror during the armed conflicts. Unfortunately, in many peace processes, women had been left out. Mediation and negotiation processes have been dominated by men for too long. No wonder sometimes women's specific needs and issues were not adequately discussed and addressed during that time.  This has been one of the many reasons why the issue of women, peace and security was raised during the discussion of UN Security Council, through the UN Security Council Resolution 1325.

And fast forward to 2019, I have been privilege to join the regional training on Women, Peace, and Security, held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia. 

Regional Training on Women Peace and Security ini telah diselenggarakan pada tanggal 8 – 10 April 2019 di Hotel Fairmont, Jakarta. Pelatihan tersebut dibuka langsung oleh  Menteri Luar Negeri Indonesia, Ibu Retno Marsudi, dan dihadiri oleh 60 peserta diplomat perempuan dari 9 negara ASEAN, Papua Nugini dan Timor-Leste.

Pelatihan Regional ini juga sangat istimewa. Mengapa? Karena pelatihan tersebut adalah pelatihan sejenis yang pertama kali dilakukan di kawasan yang dikhususkan pada diplomat perempuan. Hal ini merupakan inisiatif Indonesia dalam upaya meningkatkan kapasitas perempuan dalam berbagai tahapan proses damai dan resolusi konflik. Pelatihan Regional sekaligus merupakan bentuk kontribusi nyata Indonesia yang saat ini tengah menjadi Anggota Tidak Tetap Dewan Keamanan PBB. Masih ingat kan, kalau Juni 2018 Indonesia terpilih sebagai salah satu Anggota Tidak Tetap Dewan Keamanan PBB untuk periode tahun 2019 - 2020.

Pertemuan dibuka langsung oleh Menteri Luar Negeri RI dan diisi dengan berbagai sesi menarik dengan  menghadirkan narasumber yang berpengalamn di bidangnya dari berbagai kalangan. Beberapa ahli yang hadir antara lain Dr. Hassan Wirajuda, Dubes Wiryono Sastrohandoyo, Dubes Hamid Awaluddin, Munawar Liza Zainal (Mantan Walikota Sabang), Suster Brigitta Renyaan (Gerakan Perempuan Peduli – Maluku), Mujtaba Hamdi (Wahid Foundation), Suraiya Kamaruzzaman (Bunga Aceh) serta wakil Center for Humanitarian Dialogue, Crisis Management Initiative dan Swedish Women Mediation Network. 

Various speakers coming to this regional training shared their valuable experience and we definitely learned a lot from those, in many cases, painful memories. You can imagine that we go through experiences during troubled times in Aceh, Ambon, and Poso. We went through dark and sad periods of time when people seemed to hate one another just because of their religions and/or races. Even simple thing like passing one village could cause communal wars, like what happened in Ambon. Or in the case of Aceh, when we had separatist movement supporters terrorized villages and local people, ending with tragic tsunami which annihilated so many, which at certain point of time, became the unifying factor between conflicting actors to sit down together and find the solution to the ongoing conflict. It was very inspiring to see how women played major roles in ensuring peace in their communities. Simple things sometimes, based on what we're doing on daily basis, but really works in contributing to peace. 

Kita diskusi banyak tentang berbagai konflik komunal yang terjadi di beberapa tempat di Indonesia dan perron Perempuan dalam mengatasi pertikaian yang terjadi. Seperti yang disampaikan Menlu dalam sabutannya, perempuan memiliki insting keibuan dan secara alami senantiasa mengupayakan perdamaian bagi lingkungan di sekitar. Hal ini yang membaut pecan perempuan penting, karena saat terjadi konflik, perempuan bisa membantu menengahi pertikaian. Selain itu, suara perempuan sebagian ibu maupun pasangan juga kerap didengar kaum pria, sehingga bisa mencegah berbagai bentuk tindak kekerasan yang bisa berkembang menjadi konflik berkelanjutan.

Dalam Pelatihan ini dilakukan juga beberapa kunjungan lapangan, di mana para peserta mendatangi  Rumah Rehabilitasi Sosial “Handayani” untuk anak berkebutuhan khusus serta anak-anak yang berhadapan dengan hukum.  Salah satunya Salah anak-anak yang menjadi 

Selain itu, kunjungan juga dilakukan ke Pusat Misi Pemeliharaan Perdamaian Indonesia (PMPP) yang terletak di Sentul. Here we got a chance to meet 3, among others, women peacekeepers from Indonesia. Super proud!

With Indonesian  female peacekeepers!

I will be back with more details of the seminar, only for you.

Stay strong, women, wherever you are!