TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Maritime Sovereignty Deputy at Indonesia`s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime issues, Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno, had just recently being nominated to be the International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) judge for the 2017-2026 period.
This was stated during the speech by the Foreign Ministry’s Director General for Multilateral Affairs, Ambassador Hasan Kleib, during the reception announcing the candidacy of Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno as judge at the International Tribunal on the Law of the Sea (ITLOS) on Tuesday night (31/5).
Indonesia is the largest archipelago in the world and was involved with the negotiation process on drafting the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) since the beginning. However, despite its history and reputation related to maritime issues, Indonesia has never had a representative in ITLOS since the judges were first elected in 1996. The candidacy of Ambassador Oegroseno as Judge of the ITLOS is the first nomination for Indonesia.
"Indonesia is the only country in the world that compiles base points and archipelagic baseline charts for the UN Secretary General to determine Indonesia’s archipelagic sea-lanes. Indonesia is also a country that complies with the provisions of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) and has the largest maritime border agreement in Asia. With a positive reputation in the field of maritime law, it is only appropriate for Indonesia to contribute more to UNCLOS by having an Indonesian take a seat as judge in ITLOS”.
This was conveyed by Ambassador Oegroseno who previously served as Director General of Law and International Treaties, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (2008-2010), at the launch of his candidacy.
Ambassador Arif Havas Oegroseno is currently Maritime Sovereignty Deputy at Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime issues. He was formerly the Ambassador of Indonesia to the Kingdom of Belgium, the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the European Union, and the World Customs Organization (WCO) in 2010-2015. He was also the President of the 20th Meeting of States Parties to UNCLOS in New York in 2010.
The ITLOS Judges Election will be held on the 27th Meeting of States Parties to UNCLOS in New York, in June 2017. He will compete with Kriangsak Kittichaisaree, Ambassador of Thailand and Joseph Akl of Lebanon.
ITLOS is the only international tribunal that can enforce UNCLOS and aims to adjudicate disputes related to the implementation and interpretation of the provisions of the UNCLOS.
The Indonesian Nomination Launch event was attended by ambassadors and representatives of the foreign embassies as well as States Parties to UNCLOS in Jakarta.
ANTARA | KEMLU.GO.ID
