Islamabad, October 25, 2018 (PPI-OT): Excellencies,
Distinguished guests,
Ladies and gentlemen,
Good morning and welcome to the Foreign Office.
I thank Mr. Neil Bhune and the UN country team for partnering with the Foreign Ministry to celebrate this UN Day. This partnership signifies our long-standing engagement with the United Nations to advance the mutually reinforcing goals of peace, security and development.
This day is about both stock-taking and mapping the future.
The men and women serving the United Nations deserve our deep appreciation for their contributions to a better, more secure, more prosperous and more peaceful world.
Undoubtedly, the United Nations has several achievements to its credit ranging from poverty alleviation, health care, humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping to environmental protection.
Nonetheless, challenges persist, not least in the form of new and old conflicts, pervasive poverty and inequality, rising temperatures, organized crime. The advent of new technologies has added another layer of complexity to these challenges.
On a broader level, the very notion of multilateralism is being tested.
This day is therefore an important occasion to reaffirm our commitment to the principles and values of the UN charter, to empower the United Nations to fulfill its mandated role and to underscore our faith in the resilience of multilateralism.
Ladies and Gentleman,
For Pakistan, pursuing cooperative multilateralism constitutes a key pillar of our foreign policy. We have and will continue to actively cooperate, contribute and support the United Nations in effectively delivering the inter-governmental mandates.
Our Government is determined to pursue a people-centric social and economic agenda. We see the United Nations system as a valuable partner in creating more livelihood and job opportunities, broadening access to contemporary knowledge and skills and countering corruption and organized crime.
Ladies and Gentleman,
Pakistan’s contributions to the advancement of international peace and security are well known. We have conducted the largest and most successful counter terrorism campaign.
Since 1960, over 150,000 of our troops and police personnel have served with professionalism and distinction in 41 UN missions in across the world. We are proud of our contributions in the success stories of UN peacekeeping in Sierra Leone, Burundi, Timor-Leste and Liberia. We pay tribute to 156 Pakistani peacekeepers that have made the ultimate sacrifice in the cause of world peace.
Our diplomats have played a seminal role in shaping global norms, negotiating international treaties and steering deliberations in a range of areas. They have presided over the General Assembly, Security Council, Economic and Social Council and actively participated in the proceedings of the Human Rights Council and other UN platforms. On this day, we recognize and deeply value their service to the country and the United Nations.
Ladies and Gentleman,
As the United Nations pursues the conflict prevention agenda, it is essential to recall the Jammu and Kashmir issue. The Security Council remains seized of this internationally recognized dispute for seven decades. I call upon the Security Council to act upon its own resolutions. It is the duty of the Council to ensure realization of the inalienable right of Kashmiris to self-determination.
The Council owes it to the Kashmiri people and the world at large to play its mandated role.
The United Nations has authored a detailed report in June this year documenting the gross and systematic human rights violations in the Indian Occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Pakistan has welcomed the report. We reiterate our call on the Council and the international community for establishment of a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the violations and abuses that continue in IOK.
Ladies and Gentleman,
The goals of peace, security and development will remain elusive unless we demonstrate our collective political will to prevent conflicts from emerging, resolve disputes that continue to fester and work earnestly towards a global order premised on justice, equity and respect for international law.
We in Pakistan remain committed to pacific settlement of disputes as enshrined in the UN charter. We will pursue a policy of partnership for peace, security and prosperity in our immediate neighbourhood and beyond. We will work with the United Nations, our friends and partners in taking forward this vision and policy.
I thank you!
For more information, contact:
Spokesman
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Government of Pakistan
Tell: +92-51-9205494
Fax: +92-51-9204202
Cell: +92-336-5644459
Website: www.mofa.gov.pk