PRESS RELEASE

Pakistan urges implementation of UN resolutions on Kashmir and Palestine

New York, 19 May, 2018

At the UN, Pakistan called for resolving the disputes of Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine by implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions.

Speaking in the Security Council debate on ‘upholding international law within the context of the maintenance of international peace and security’, Pakistan’s Ambassador to the UN, Dr. Maleeha urged the Council to be more consistent and unbiased in its actions. “Selectivity in implementation of its resolutions and decisions, especially on long-standing disputes, notably Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine must end”, she stressed.

Saying that there can be no peace without justice, she quoted Martin Luther King that “injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere”.

Criticising big power politics in the Council as a hurdle to implementation of UN resolutions, the Pakistani envoy said, “Nothing diminishes the standing and credibility of the Council more than when it watches in silence while norms of international law and its own resolutions and decisions are trampled by member states or remain unimplemented due to the narrow interests invoked in big power politics”.

She warned that every time that the Council fails to address these omissions and breaches, it compromises the ‘moral’ authority of its decisions that are otherwise, ‘legally’ binding.

The UN Charter, she said, represents the single most important source of international law that all member states have a responsibility to uphold, specially at this critical inflection point, when fundamental tenets of multilateralism are increasingly under threat.

“Strict adherence to the purposes and principles of the Charter is therefore, imperative, not only to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of the UN system, but also to preserve the centrality of a rules-based international order”, she added.

She urged the Council to assume its full responsibilities under Chapter VI of the Charter, to promote political solutions, mediation and dialogue for peaceful resolution of conflict. “It should actively seek the engagement of all stakeholders including women and the youth throughout the conflict lifecycle”, she added.

Arguing that solutions are often more effective when they are neither externally imposed nor culturally alien, Ambassador Lodhi also urged the Council to further strengthen its cooperation with regional and sub-regional organizations, to bring localized insights and perspectives on emerging threats.

She pointed out that the UN was a reflection of its membership and that it can be as strong or as weak as member states wish it to be. “For the UN to become ‘fit for purpose’, it must reflect the contemporary spirit of our age – an organization that is more democratic, representative, accountable, transparent and efficient”, she stressed.

Emphasizing the need for using diplomatic tools in resolving the challenges to international peace and security, Ambassador Lodhi reminded the Council that ‘promoting peace’ has been the principal obligation and goal of the UN. “It is time we fully commit ourselves to the principle of seeking solutions to today’s challenges through the art of diplomacy, and not on the frontlines of conflict. After all, coercive actions are a blunt instrument and do not create incentives for consensual solutions”, she concluded.