Pakistan Mission to United Nations

Statement by Dr. Maleeha Lodhi Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Pakistan in the Security Council Ministerial Open Debate On “The Respect for the Principles and Purposes of the Charter of the United Nations as Key Element for the Maintenance of International Peace and Security” (15 February 2016)

Mr. President,

Pakistan is pleased to see the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela chair this august body and we appreciate today’s debate on a subject of fundamental importance.

There is no better way to mark UN’s 70th anniversary than by renewing our collective pledge to fully and unequivocally respect the purposes and principles of the United Nations.

We also thank the Secretary General for his insightful remarks.

Mr. President,

The UN Charter does not just collectively bind us to efforts aimed at saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war. It is also a shared commitment to create a world order based on the rule of international law.

Of course, the Charter’s greatest success is that there hasn't been a general conflagration for seventy years. But today we see a world which is hardly at peace, where conflicts abound, human rights abuses remain rampant and humanitarian law is flouted in open violation of the Charter’s principles. We have yet to see a world order emerge that is based on justice and respect for obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law, and most critically, the purposes and principles of the Charter itself.

Mr. President,

Member States solemnly entered into this Covenant with the trust that these principles are immutable. Yet we see them flouted in pursuit of narrow “national interests”. We see unilateralism and arbitrariness in consequential decisions of war and peace. We see unwarranted foreign adventures and then we also see their unforeseen and unintended but devastating consequences.

The statement made by the Non-Aligned Movement, which comprises more than half the UN membership that we fully align with, reflects cracks in the trust embodied in the Charter. This must be remedied to advance and augment the UN’s moral authority of being a just and credible organization that safeguards the interests of all Member States as equals, in accordance with international law.

Mr. President,

Let me make a few suggestions to rebuild this trust:

• One,Management of peace and security must be based on genuine consensus forged on the basis of Charter principles and not power politics. A cooperative approach, not the imposition of coercive measures, shaped by the interests of powerful states, must guide our actions.
• Two,There should be renewed focus on utilization of peaceful means for addressing breaches of international peace and settlement of international disputes, with wider and more effective use of Chapter VI measures.
• Three,Preventing violation of sovereignty and the territorial integrity of States is this Organization’s responsibility. Use of force or threat of use of force, contravening international law, must be censured and effectively deterred. Failure to do so has already created an impression that the UN has become an instrument of the powerful, not the guardian of the principles of international law.
• Four,The UN must uphold the principle of sovereign equality of States. Equality includes the concept of equal opportunity, which is a safeguard against discriminatory measures and policies. This should be at the heart of reform of any UN institution.
• And Five,The UN must fulfill its purpose of developing friendly relations among nations predicated on the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples. It is counterintuitive to expect peaceful and friendly relations among nations if the UN cannot guarantee application of its fundamental principle of self-determination.

Mr. President,

The peoples of the world expect fairness and justice from the United Nations. It is our responsibility as Member States to ensure that we abide by the principles we agreed upon seven decades ago.

We agreed on them because we believed in their utility to promote our collective interest. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to them because we continue to think that adhering to these principles will save us from the scourge of war.

Let us translate these beliefs, commitments and statements into action. For if we are unable to do so, we will not only endanger the progress achieved in previous years but also risk making the institution appear irrelevant in a world marked by increasing turmoil and trouble, where insecurity prevails and injustice persists.

This would be a huge price to pay, especially at a time when so many conflicts are devastating the lives of millions and raising questions in people’s minds about the relevance and effectiveness of the UN in managing international peace and security.

Before concluding, let me once again pledge my country’s commitment to translating our trust in the UN Charter into practice.

I thank you, Mr. President.