At UN, Pakistan objects to ‘selectivity’ in condemning HR abuses
United Nations, June 30 (KMS): At the United Nations, Pakistan has objected over selectivity in the condemnation of human rights violations, citing the deafening silence over Indian illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Participating in a debate, the Acting Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN, Aamir Khan, called for a review of the current approach to advancing international peace and security.
He was speaking in a discussions sponsored by the Permanent Mission of Malaysia to the UN. The Subject was: “From Words to Action: A global ceasefire beyond COVID-19 pandemic.”
“Today, people are talking about violations and human rights in one situation,” Ambassador Aamir Khan said in an obvious reference to the developments in Ukraine, but pointed out that “there is a deafening silence elsewhere in similar situations of violations of human rights, especially in Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine.”
“It’s unfortunate,” he said, “that there is an element of selectivity when it comes to the condemnation of violation of human rights”.
The Pakistani envoy maintained that other sources of world’s geopolitical tensions were the failure of the international community to live up to the ideals of collective and cooperative security, as also that inequality was now embedded in the global political, economic and financial system in the post-1945 world order.
To deal with the situation, Ambassador Aamir Khan called for addressing the root causes of conflicts and disputes. He said the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the Peace-building Commission (PBC) have important roles in the process – especially a conflict between nuclear-armed States.
In this regard, he referred to UN Charter’s Article 99 which empowers the Secretary-General to bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security, as well as in resolving disputes.
On its part, Aamir Khan said the Security Council must utilize its primary authority under the Charter to secure the just and peaceful settlement of conflicts and disputes in accordance with its own resolutions and decisions.
