Page 42 - Demo

Islam, Democracy and Human Rights in Contemporary Indonesia25been associated with horrendous human rights abuses. We havedrawn the lesson from these human tragedies and, for the sakeof our national unity, have rediscovered the value of harmonyand tolerance between the different ethnic and religious groupsmaking up our country.The Government of Indonesia is determined to act on theselessons by addressing the root causes of domestic conflictsarising from racial, ethnic or religious differences and thushopefully prevent their recurrence. Under the leadership ofPresident Megawati Soekarnoputri, the new governmentcontinues to take legislative, judicial, regulatory, administrativeand other measures to eliminate racism and related discrimination in the country. In this regard, special emphasis is also beingplaced on protecting specific segments of the population whichare frequently singled out for racist or discriminatory attacks,such as migrant workers, displaced persons, victims of humantrafficking or Indonesians belonging to certain ethnicminorities. The same groups may also be victimized on groundsof gender, language, culture, social status or social origin,making them the targets of multiple discrimination.My government attaches great importance to the followup activities in the wake of the Durban Conference. Let mealso reaffirm my government%u2019s readiness to join the internationalcommunity in its efforts to address the problems identified inthis Conference, and to help all victims of inequality whose plightrequires international recognition and cooperation. In thisregard, we believe that the international community mustensure the greater effectiveness of the activities and mechanismsof the United Nations and equip the latter with the necessaryfinancial resources for its actions to combat racism and other