No peace without resolving Kashmir, Palestine issues: Maleeha

NEW YORK - Pakistan's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi has said that Palestine and Kashmir disputes need to be resolved in accordance with Security Council resolutions.

Addressing a debate at United Nations, she stressed the need for implementation of these resolutions regarding Kashmir and Palestine.

Maleeha Lodhi said Pakistan has been emphasizing the need to resolve Kashmir and Palestine issue in accordance with Security Council resolutions.

She said it is impossible to establish peace without just solution issues. She deployed that big powers are hindering the implementation of UN resolutions.

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, especially 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.