UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan told the UN Security Council Thursday that enabling the people of Palestine and Kashmir to exercise their right of self-determination must be the 15-member body’s “priority objective.”
“People are at the core of the world order envisaged in the UN Charter,” Ambassador Munir Akram reminded delegates, as he spoke in a debate on ‘investing in people to enhance resilience against complex challenges’ in the context of building and sustaining peace.
Two of the most intractable conflicts in the Security Council’s agenda- #Palestine & #JammuAndKashmir -continue to fester, & threaten int'l peace & security due to suppression of right of #SelfDetermination through foreign occupation: Ambassador Munir Akram at #SecurityCouncil pic.twitter.com/RRx1hVR44b
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) January 27, 2023
Obviously, the Pakistani envoy said, over the last seven decades, insufficient attention has been accorded to “the ‘peoples’ of our United Nations”.
“Although most of the peoples of the 193 Member States of the UN have exercised their right to self-determination, there are several who have been prevented from exercising this right due to foreign occupation and suppression,” he said, adding, “Two of the most intractable conflicts in the Council’s agenda — Palestine and Jammu & Kashmir — continue to fester, and threaten international peace and security, due to suppression of the right of self-determination through foreign occupation.”
“Enabling the people of Palestine and Jammu & Kashmir to exercise their right to self-determination must be a priority objective of the Security Council,” Ambassador Akram stressed.
Recognizing the failure of ensuring the universal respect for human rights due to double standards and political priorities of some of those who “champion” human rights, he pointed out that the United Nations did not succeed in promoting higher living conditions either.
“Our world is vastly richer than it was 70 years ago, yet inequality has increased and the division between the rich and the poor is growing,” he said, underscoring that resilient development is needed to build resilient peace, and achieving the climate agenda and climate justice is required to reach a durable peace.
Ambassador Akram said that, in response to the recent floods, Pakistan, in cooperation with its partners, has formulated the resilient Recovery, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction Framework.
“This demonstration of international solidarity and cooperation will, we hope, imbue all of the efforts by the international community to ensure that all peoples are equipped to address the complex challenges of peace, development, and climate change we face today.”
