The United Nations General Assembly has passed a resolution renewing the global commitment to self-determination, drawing renewed attention to grave human rights violations-including extrajudicial killings and demographic engineering-faced by populations living under colonial, foreign, and alien occupation.
According to an official report today, the resolution, which specifically references the struggles of peoples in Palestine and Kashmir, was submitted by Pakistan”s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar.
Co-sponsored by sixty-five countries, the measure was adopted by consensus without a vote in the General Assembly”s Third Committee, the body responsible for social, humanitarian, and cultural issues.
Pakistan has been the primary sponsor of this resolution annually since 1981, consistently working to focus the world”s attention on the inalienable right of peoples to determine their own destiny.
While introducing the text, Ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad highlighted that many people are still denied this fundamental freedom. He detailed that their legitimate aspirations are often met with excessive use of force, arbitrary detentions, enforced disappearances, communication blockades, and attempts at demographic change through illegal settlements.
The resolution formally urges the UN Human Rights Council to give special consideration to the violation of human rights, especially the right to self-determination, resulting from foreign military intervention, aggression, or occupation.