PRESS RELEASE

Non-implementation of UNSC resolutions in Kashmir travesty of
law and morality: Ambassador Lodhi

New York, 03 November, 2015

At the United Nations, Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi said that the non-implementation of longstanding Security Council resolutions on Kashmir were a travesty of law and morality.

Drawing attention to the plight of the Kashmiri people, who had long been denied their right of self determination she called for the urgent resolution of the issue in accordance with Security Council resolutions.

Speaking in the debate on the ‘Right to Self-determination and Elimination of Racism’, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN said that the continued suffering of Kashmiri women, children and men “should shake the collective conscience of the international community”.

Ambassador Lodhi underlined the urgent need to fulfill the long-held promise of self-determination to the Kashmiri people and said that this was indispensable to establishing lasting peace and stability in South Asia.

She recalled Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif’s statement during the General Debate, in which he reiterated the call for a peaceful resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute, in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiri people.

“Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif also stated that the Kashmiri people were an integral part of the dispute and consultations with them were essential to reach a peaceful settlement”, she said, and added that he had characterized the Kashmir dispute as “the most persistent failure of the United Nations”.

Security Council resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir, the Pakistani envoy said, pronounced that the future status of Jammu and Kashmir would be decided through the democratic means of “a free and impartial plebiscite under UN auspices”.

But she regretted that these resolutions, which were supported by Pakistan, India and the international community “still await implementation”.

“Generation after generation of Kashmiris have seen only broken pledges and ruthless oppression” she told the world body. Human rights violations remain rampant. “Over 100,000 have died in their struggle for self-determination”, she added.

She emphasized that the 70th Anniversary of the United Nations ought to be a catalyst to spur this body into action, and not just more words.

Speaking on racism and intolerance, Ambassador Lodhi said that Pakistan was firmly opposed to all forms of racism, xenophobia and religious intolerance.

She said that a contemporary form of racism is religious intolerance and discrimination on the basis of religion. Faith-based discrimination, stereotyping of people on the basis of their belief, incitement to violence through hate speech and acts of desecration were not only inconsistent with fundamental human rights and freedoms, but also jeopardized social harmony and global peace and security.

She called for urgent steps to reverse this disturbing new trend.