Jakarta. Indonesia officially became the president of the UN Human Rights Council for 2026 on Thursday, marking the first time for Jakarta to be at the group’s helm.

Sidharto Reza Suryodipuro, the senior Indonesian diplomat who now presides over the council, said that Jakarta would not be selective about the types of issues it would handle during its leadership.

“We believe in and are fully committed — like all of you council members — to the core principles of universality, objectivity, and non-selectivity in the consideration of human rights issues,” Sidharto told the body's organizational meeting in its headquarters.

The council's main task is to treat all human rights, including the right of development, in a fair and equal manner, Sidharto said.

Sidharto brought up how Indonesia had long been a member of the council, citing Jakarta’s interest in becoming a “bridge builder”. Indonesia also vowed to “engage closely” with everyone, be it members, human rights institutions, and regional organizations, as Jakarta pursues what it calls “a presidency for all”.

The UN Human Rights Council, also known as the UNHRC, assumes a rotating presidency that changes every year, representing a different region each time. It is the Asia-Pacific’s turn to lead the council this year, and the regional group has nominated Jakarta as its sole candidate.

Human Rights Minister Natalius Pigai recently claimed that Indonesia would try to address the Venezuela crisis as the UNHRC president. Caracas is witnessing major political shifts after US forces captured Venezuela’s now-ousted leader Nicolas Maduro. 

Indah Nuria Savitri, a senior official at the Foreign Ministry, later clarified that the UNHRC indeed aimed to safeguard human rights around the world. However, the body’s discussions will be limited to “Venezuela’s internal human rights affairs” for now, unless the council calls for a special session that addresses the US strike.

“So it is of a context different from what is going on in Venezuela. If there needs to be further discussions [on the Venezuela crisis], the UNHRC has the urgent debate or special session mechanism. To this day, there has been no request for such a session,”  Indah told reporters in Jakarta.

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