Highlighting the importance of early resolutions of international disputes like Kashmir and Palestine Pakistan has stressed the need for implementing the UN resolutions to seek an amicable settlement of the age-old-disputes in order to maintain international peace and security.
Pakistan’s permanent ambassador to the UN Maleeha Lodhi while taking part in a Security Council debate last week on ‘upholding international law within the context of the maintenance of international peace and security’, emphasized that the UN Security Council must end “selectivity” in implementing its resolutions, especially long-standing “disputes” such as Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine. “The Council needs to be more consistent and unbiased in its actions. Selectivity in implementation of its resolutions and decisions, especially on long-standing disputes, notably Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine must end. There can, after all, be no peace without justice,” Lodhi said.
Pakistan has been raising the Kashmir and Palestine issues consistently in various UN platforms, however, it is quite unfortunate that the influential world governments and the UN in particular has miserably failed to settle any disputes the Muslim world is facing be it Kashmir or Palestine. We have seen that in recent past the UN had played vital role in East Timor’s independence by arranging a referendum in the region in 1999 bringing an end to 24-year’s Indonesian control over the territory. The UN and the United States simultaneously played key role to facilitate peace in South Sudan. The birth of the Republic of South Sudan is the culmination of this peace process which began with the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in 2005. On 9 July 2011 South Sudan assumed the status of a sovereign country.
Being in geo-political hotspot Kashmir and Palestine have been in the international lime light since a long time but despite that no serious efforts were made to address these burning issues that have been major cause of conflict and unrest in the Muslim World. The people of both the regions have been the victim of world apathy. People are being killed ruthlessly by occupation forces but world is senselessly watching like a mute spectator. Today the situation in Middle East and Kashmir is worse than ever and has assumed dangerous dimensions. And, therefore, it is incumbent upon the United Nations to take effective cognizance of the simmering situation in both the restive regions and take necessary steps to resolve these age-old disputes in line with the relevant UN resolutions. It goes without saying that there can be no justice without peace and there can be no peace without justice. So far as the international peace and security is concerned it is possible only if an even-handed policy and approach is adopted to resolve world disputes.
