UN General Assembly’s revitalization key to resolution of disputes, fostering world peace

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UNITED NATIONS: Pakistan has reaffirmed its support for revitalizing the U.N. General Assembly, saying its role on peace and security includes promoting peaceful resolution of disputes in accordance with the UN Charter and UN resolutions, including through mediation, arbitration and good offices.

“The Assembly also has the principal responsibility to address the so-called ‘thematic’ aspects of peace and security, such as environment and peace; women, peace and security; and the nexus between peace, development and human rights – the three ‘pillars’ of the United Nations,” Ambassador Usman Jadoon, acting permanent representative of Pakistan to the UN, said in a debate on revitalizing the work of the 193-member body.

Emphasizing General Assembly’s status as the only forum with universal representation, he said its deficiencies primarily arise from the inability or unwillingness of some of the major member states that prevent full utilization of its authority and potential. The only limitations arise from the primary role of the Security Council for the maintenance of international peace and security.

Noting the General Assembly vast complementary and residual authority under the Charter, the Pakistani envoy said it was reflected whenever the Security Council was unable to act or is prevented from acting.

Since the Security Council acts on behalf of the entire UN membership, he said it should report more frequently and comprehensively to the Assembly.

In order to enhance the credibility of its decisions, Ambassador Jadoon proposed that the Assembly establish a dedicated mechanism to monitor the implementation of its own resolutions.

“As a first step, the Secretariat should be requested to submit, within a specific time-frame, reports on the status of implementation of General Assembly resolutions,” the Pakistani envoy said.

He voiced concerns about the Security Council’s increasing use of Chapter VII (enforcement) resolutions to create international norms, noting that this bypasses the inclusive, democratic processes envisioned by the UN Charter.

Pakistan called for future treaties, including those on tax, development, and environment, to be negotiated by the Assembly with the participation of all member states.

During the debate, many delegates said it was about time for the United Nations – the world’s largest multilateral body – to be headed by a woman for the first time since its founding nearly 80 years ago.

“How can the UN convincingly promote women’s empowerment if its leadership structures continue to exclude women?”, asked Costa Rica’s delegate, adding that because the selection process for the next Secretary-General presents a “historic opportunity,” therefore, “the time has come to break the 80-year cycle of exclusion”.

Imploring Member States to elect a female helmswoman, Costa Rican delegate regretted the usage of male pronouns in Articles 97 to 99 of the UN Charter to describe the role of the Secretary-General, thereby “enshrining sexism in the highest political office” and entrenching “a male-dominated multilateralism”.

For Slovenia’s representative, who spoke for a group of Member States, gender equality and the representation of women in leadership positions at the UN is one issue “of great importance not only for the functioning of the United Nations, but also for how this Organization is perceived by the broader public, especially by youth and in particular young women and girls of the world”.

The full, equal and meaningful participation of women at all levels is essential to diplomacy, multilateralism and the UN’s work across its three pillars of peace and security, human rights and sustainable development, the delegate stressed.

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