UNITED NATIONS: According to Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Munir Akram, enforcing compliance by the States that continue to flout the principles of the United Nations Charter and Security Council resolutions is a prerequisite for rebuilding trust in the global political and economic system.Ambassador Akram stated during the 15-member Council’s discussion on future-proofing trust to sustain peace that trust among States has been eroded as a result of Charter violations by powerful States and their allies as well as inadequate attention given to carrying out Council resolutions. The top Pakistani diplomat stated that the UN Charter and Security Council resolutions are “both cardinal pillars of international law and world order” and that member states must abide by them.
During the high-level debate, more than 60 ministers, observers and representatives shared ideas on how the Council and wider United Nations system can strengthen their approaches to building trust for sustainable peace, particularly with respect to inclusion, normative frameworks, and use of data and technology.
Delegates echoed calls for broader participation of civil society, as well as strengthened collaboration with the Peace-building Commission and regional organizations, and highlighted the Secretary-General’s forthcoming proposal for a New Agenda for Peace as guidance for effective action.
In his remarks, Ambassador Akram attributed the erosion of trust in the international political and economic system to a toxic global security environment where States believe that equipping themselves for war is the best guarantee of preserving national security, sovereignty, and independence.
“In Pakistan’s view,” he said, “trust among States has eroded primarily because the fundamental principles of the Charter have been consistently violated by powerful States and their allies and because insufficient attention has been paid to securing the implementation of the resolutions of the Security Council, as required under Article 25 of the UN Charter.”
The UN Secretary-General, the Pakistani envoy said, should prepare an annual review of situations on the Council’s agenda where the Charter’s principles are being violated and where the resolutions of the Council remain unimplemented. The Council can then utilize means available under the Charter to secure States’ compliance.
“This would be the best way to ‘future-proof’, and even to ‘present-proof’, international peace and security,” he added.
“Building international trust also entails addressing the root causes of conflict, including poverty, hunger, foreign occupation and oppression, denial of the right of the self determination, injustice, human rights violations and climate impacts,” Ambassador Akram said, adding that these are all conditions that should take center stage in the Secretary-General’s agenda for peace.
Also, he said, to avert conflicts and to mitigate the impacts, an equitable and non-discriminatory arms control and disarmament regime was indispensable. s
Resilient peace is not possible without resilient development, the Pakistani envoy said.
However, he said trust has also been eroded due to policies that exacerbate the fiscal and development challenges of developing countries, leaving 54 States in debt distress and in danger of default, and 300 million people in need of food aid.
Against that backdrop, Ambassador Akram called for the adequate provisioning of financing, of $4.2 trillion annually, to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.
