Highlighting Kashmir & Palestine issues: Pakistan asks UNSC to end selectivity in its actions

UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has underscored the need for the implementation of United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions on decades-old international disputes like Kashmir and Palestine without discrimination to pave the way for international peace and security.

"Selectivity in implementation of its resolutions and decisions, especially on longstanding disputes, notably Palestine and held Jammu and Kashmir, must end," Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi, permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said as the 15-member body debated how to effectively counter numerous threats to world peace. Underlining that the Security Council should be more consistent and unbiased in its actions, she said, "There can, after all, be no peace without justice."

The debate was chaired by the President of Poland, Andrzej Duda, who urged United States and the international community to reject the temptation to place force above law, and fear about trust. "If we call an act of aggression a ‘conflict,’ without properly defining the victim and the aggressor; if we call a threat a ‘challenge’ without defining the source of that threat then we are helpless in terms of selecting legal steps to react," the Polish leader said.

In her remarks, Ambassador Lodhi noted that the world today was hardly at peace, as conflicts abound, longstanding disputes fester, and the legitimate rights of people continue to be denied to them. In this context, the Pakistani envoy regretted that actions by the Security Council have often faltered. "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," Ambassador Lodhi told the 15-member body. "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 Council should assume its full responsibilities under Chapter VI to promote political solutions, mediation and dialogue for the peaceful resolution of conflict, Ambassador Lodhi said, adding that it should also have greater recourse to the International Court of Justice on legal matters. The tension between demands for accountability and the imperative of sovereignty must be resolved according to the norms of international law, she said, also noting that the Council should further strengthen its cooperation with regional and sub-regional organisations. "For the UN to become ‘fit for purpose’, it must reflect the contemporary spirit of our age - an organisation that is more democratic, representative, accountable, transparent and efficient, the Pakistani envoy said.