Kurniawan Hari, Jakarta – Activists in Jakarta welcomed Indonesia's election to the newly established United Nations Human Rights Council on Wednesday and called for the government to further improve rights protection in the country.

Calling the election a success, noted human rights campaigner Todung Mulya Lubis said Indonesia's election showed the international community appreciated the country's commitment to improving human rights. "(However) the government must take concrete action (on human rights) otherwise it will lose credibility," he told The Jakarta Post here Wednesday.

At a Tuesday session, the UN General Assembly elected Indonesia along with 46 other nations to the council, which replaces the old UN Human Rights Commission. Sixty-seven countries competed for the 47 places on the council.

Winning 165 votes from a total of 191 delegates at the session, Indonesia won the second-highest number of votes in the council's 13-member Asian section, after India with 176 votes.

This achievement, Todung said, should drive the Indonesian government to deal seriously with unresolved human rights abuse cases in Papua, Poso, Aceh and Jakarta. "We must not work half-heartedly," he said.

Fellow rights campaigner Rafendy Jamin said he hoped Indonesia's membership on the UN council would encourage ministers here to a greater understanding of human rights issues. "The election (of Indonesia) to the UN council is not only the business of the foreign ministry. It should encourage all institutions to respect human rights values," he told the Post.

Rafendy suggested the government welcome UN special rapporteurs into the country to examine its human rights protections. "The government seems to have closed its door to UN special rapporteurs," Rafendy said.

Non-governmental group Migrant CARE urged the government to prove its commitment to human rights protection by working to improve the conditions of migrant workers.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Desra Percaya said the election of Indonesia to the council meant the country was shouldering more responsibilities. "We are now responsible not only for domestic human rights protection, but also for the issue in the international sphere," Desra said.

Indonesia's permanent representative to the UN in Geneva, Makarim Wibisono, would deal with the day-to-day affairs of the council, he said.