Call to boost UN role in conflict resolution

On the eve of the 73rd session of United Nations General Assembly, Pakistan has called for strengthening the world body’s role in conflict resolution, while spotlighting Kashmiri people’s decadeslong struggle for their right to self-determination in Jammu & Kashmir.

“We must summon the collective will to address protracted and complex disputes and not ignore them simply because they appear intractable, for then, sustainable peace will remain a distant dream, “Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi told a high-level event on how to achieve a culture of peace amid current global challenges and threats to stability, prosperity and the planet.

Culture of peace

Peace could not be achieved amid widespread economic and social deprivation, human rights abuses and situations of political and economic injustice, the Pakistani envoy said on Wednesday.

“Foreign occupation and the denial of fundamental rights, including the right to self-determination exacerbate the sense of injustice among the occupied and the oppressed,” she told delegates from around the world.

“Nowhere is this more apparent than in the pain and suffering of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and Palestine.”

“In Jammu and Kashmir,” the Pakistani envoy said, “the valiant struggle of the Kashmiri people for their right to self-determination is being brutally suppressed.”

“A strengthened role for the UN in conflict resolution can serve as the most effective instrument to promote a culture of peace,” she added.