TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - President Joko Widodo has said the U.N. is powerless in dealing with various global conflicts. He also highlighted the widening gap between developing and poor countries in the world.
“Hundreds of people in the Northern Hemisphere are rich, while 1.6 billion people in the South are starving. It is clear that the U.N. is powerless. Violence occurs without a U.N. mandate,” said Jokowi in the opening speech of the Asia-Africa Conference (AAC) on Wednesday.
Jokowi said Asian-African nations must called for reform of the U.N. to enable it to cope with global imbalance and violence.
“We, the nations of Asia and Africa, demanded a reformed U.N. so that it can function optimally for all nations,” he said. Jokowi also asked Asian-African countries to fight for Palestinian independence and not to turn a blind eye to the occupation in Palestine.
“The world is powerless regarding Palestine. We must not turn a blind eye to the sufferings of the Palestinians,” he said.
ANANDA TERESIA
