Pakistan has called on the United Nations Security Council to take “bold decisions” to secure the compliance of States with the U.N. Charter’s principles and its own decisions such as to grant the right of self-determination to the people of Kashmir and Palestine.
“The Council has various means available to it, under the Charter, to secure such compliance,” Ambassador Munir Akram told the 15-member Council on Monday.
Speaking in an open day-long debate on ‘effective multilateralism”, the Pakistani envoy suggested that the UN Secretary-General should prepare an annual review of situations on Council’s agenda where its resolutions were being violated or remain unimplemented.
“Protestations of commitment to the UN Charter ring hollow when no action is taken to redress these blatant violations of the UN Charter and resolutions of the Security Council on the two issues on the agenda of the Security Council,” he added
The debate was sponsored by Russia, which holds the rotating Council presidency for the month of April. The session was a prominent appearance for Sergei Lavrov, who appeared at U.N. headquarters in New York, his first visit to the United States since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began 14 months ago that saw him sparring with Western diplomats on the conflict.
“Today,” Ambassador Akram said, “International peace and security confront multiple threats, arising from violations of the principles of the UN Charter; great power rivalries; a renewed global arms race, including in new domains and weapons; proliferating conflicts and disputes; spreading terrorism, hate and Islamophobia; organized crime; rising poverty; and growing climate impacts.”
“A prime illustration of derogation from the Charter and Security Council resolutions is the situation in Indian-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, where the exercise of the right to self-determination by the Kashmiri people, prescribed by the Security Council, has been subverted and suppressed by India through seven decades of force and fraud; another is the situation in occupied Palestine,” the Pakistani envoy said.
Warning that an uncontrolled arms race — which now encompasses several new weapons and new domains of competition — will, sooner or later, lead to a disastrous conflict involving States armed to the teeth, Ambassador Akram urged the United Nations to take the lead in reviving the process of arms control and disarmament.
He said effective multilateralism could only be built on the foundation of strong international institutions. In this regard, he called for the Council to be enlarged and become more representative, accountable, democratic, transparent and effective, rather than an enlarged club of the large and powerful States.
“Effective multilateralism, in short, must be comprehensive, inclusive and equitable,” the Pakistani envoy said, promising to promote it, including in the preparations for the Summit of the Future next year.
Pakistan urges UNSC to act for resolution of Kashmir, Palestine disputes
