ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has abstained from voting on the draft resolution on Russia Ukraine issue at the 11th Emergency Session in the General Assembly.
In his explanation Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the UN Ambassador Munir Akram said Pakistan fully supports the resolution’s call for respect for the principle of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States. He said states cannot be torn apart by the use of force and these principles must be consistently and universally respected.
He said under international law, the right of self- determination applies to peoples who are under foreign or colonial domination, and those who have not yet exercised the right to self-determination, as in the case of Jammu and Kashmir.
He said Pakistan looks forward to seeing similar concern and condemnation about the attempts by India to formalize its illegal annexation of the internationally recognized disputed territory of Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir in complete violation of international law and relevant resolutions of the UN Security Council on Jammu and Kashmir.
The Permanent Representative said the exercise of the right to self-determination should be conducted in an environment free of military occupation and under impartial auspices, preferably under the supervision of the United Nations.
He said, Pakistan, therefore, endorses the basic principle reflected in the draft resolution that referenda conducted for peoples and regions which are part of a sovereign State and in an environment which is not free and not under impartial auspices, are ultra vires and legally unacceptable. He said, unfortunately, the draft resolution contains several provisions which go beyond declaring the referenda null and void and includes provisions which my delegation is unable to endorse.
Munir Akram said Pakistan abstained because the resolution recalls several resolutions on all of which Pakistan abstained. He said the co-sponsors of the draft resolution have not accepted proposals for an immediate peaceful resolution of the conflict. He said Pakistan believes that irrespective of the origin of the conflict is the immediate cessation of hostilities and the resumption of a peaceful dialogue to resolve the causes of the conflict and restore peace and security in Ukraine.