New York, February 22, 2023 (PPI-OT):Pakistan has called for addressing situations where people are still forcibly denied their UN-pledged right to self-determination, as in Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine, saying there is a need to uphold principles of justice and rule of law. “The right to self-determination which is a fundamental pillar of the world order based on the Rule of Law is the central piece of multilateral framework for peace and security,” Ambassador Aamir Khan, deputy permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, told the Special Committee on the ‘Charter of the United Nations and on the Strengthening of the Role of the Organization’.

Established as a platform to exchange views on the Charter’s implementation, the Special Committee holds annual sessions, with member states gathering to consider proposals and hold substantive discussions. Since its founding, the United Nations’ mission and work have been guided by the purposes and principles contained in its Charter, adopted in 1945 and amended three times – in 1963, 1965 and 1973. “While most dependent or occupied peoples have been able to exercise their right to self-determination peacefully, there are some who have been denied this right and have been obliged to struggle for it,” the Pakistani envoy said in his remarks.

“This is the situation in occupied Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine,” Aamir Khan told delegates. Voicing concern over frequent resort to use of force around the world in which foreign occupation and intervention are tolerated, he said, “Suppression of self-determination, great power rivalries, festering conflicts and unresolved disputes, terrorism, including new forms of terrorism and extremism and proliferation of ideologies of hate is gaining strength.”

“In the midst of this all,” the Pakistani envoy said, “the United Nations often being deliberately marginalized”. In this regard, he called for reaffirmation of the commitment to the principles and values enshrined in the UN Charter. “The UN is an indispensable actor in combating existential threats ranging from threats to peace and security including wars and situations of foreign occupation to pandemics to climate change and nuclear proliferation,” Aamir Khan added.

“For a rule-based international order, respect for the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and international law is a pre-requisite,” he said, stressing the need to uphold principles of justice and rule of law, cooperative multilateralism, sovereign equality, and settlement of disputes by peaceful means in the conduct of international relations.

The Pakistani envoy said the current and future threats to international peace and security could be addressed only through multilateral cooperation within the framework of the UN Charter. “The deficits in addressing these threats do not denote the failure of the UN or its organs so much as the failure of member states to empower these organs and agree on collective and cooperative measures to address these threats,” Aamir Khan added.

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