UNITED NATIONS:
Pakistan has told the UN General Assembly that the doctrine of responsibility to protect the international understanding to intervene and stop atrocities from taking place would remain a ‘hollow concept’ without addressing the historical injustices such as festering disputes and foreign occupation.
“The use of regional mechanisms or early warning systems and need for prompt response are equally important for new and old disputes/situations,” Pakistani delegate Raza Bashir Tarar said in the course of the General Assembly’s interactive dialogue on the responsibility to protect.
“Addressing all situations in an impartial manner is the key to achieving consensus on this concept,” Tarar added.
Agreed at a summit of world leaders in 2005 and sometimes known as “R2P”, the concept holds states responsible for shielding their own populations from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and related crimes against humanity and requires the international community to step in if this obligation is not met.
Intervening in the debate, the Pakistani delegate made it clear that responsibility to protect remains the primary responsibility of the state and cannot be arrogated by or delegated to other actors in defiance of the established UN charter principles of non-intervention, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.
He said situations have to be dealt with objectively on a case-by-case basis. The use of peaceful means should always precede actions under Chapter VII (enforcement measures) with full involvement of regional mechanisms.
The Pakistani delegate also cautioned against a one-size-fits-all approach, saying eschewing incitement and respecting diversity are key ingredients of prevention methodologies.
“To preserve these valuable principles, the right to freedom of expression must be exercised with responsibility,” he stressed.
“Politicised decision making has only led to prolonged suffering of peoples under foreign occupation and erosion of faith in the UN’s ability to act as an honest broker,” Tarrar added.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 16th, 2011.
COMMENTS (20)
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Let there be peace. It should start with UN giving freedom to the Indian occupied Kashmir - they deserved their freedom even more urgently like East Timur and South Sudan. If UN can do for newest issues like East Timur and South Sudan than it is only Just and humane to do it for such an old UN human right resolution. Puting it in the back burner will not let it go away as India would wish. It would rather promote more injustice and harm for the region. Kashmir issue is an age old issue and stands on its own merit and UN should not allow India to keep on railroading it. . . The power of UN ought to be greater than the unjust voice of India! The people of Kashmir are human beings too and hold UN accountable for forgetting and letting them suffer for so long, and UN should resolve this as a priority without much delay.
Address injustices, UN tells Pakistan
Let Pakistan end blasphemy and other religious induced laws and then speak of injustices.
Charity begins at home, let Pakistan start with addressing the human rights abuse of the Baloch people by the Paki Army ....... initiate inquiry into the thousands of Baloch people gone missing without a trace, target killing of Baloch leaders every day ..... !
Pakistan is absolutely right about ethnic cleansing and human rights! Tibet and Balochistan issues need to be tacked by UN on priority!
Xenophobic country which has started 4 wars, provided training camps to Al Qaeda, was caught hiding OBL, and uses terrorist as "strategic assets" has the gall to lecture the UN on proper behavior?
@Shameful Indian: Please remind gandhiji that pakistan is now islamic republic.
@bambyaa..when people like you will grow up??....is there any UN resolution for balochistan and sindh..if follow your advice then do the same in khalistan..seven sister states..Assam..and areas dominated by naxalites and maoists..then you will astonished more then uss baby.. and where you stand also....and the disease of prejiduce is very fast spreading in the minds of people like you..and for its cure you should also aviod the propganda based Indian media..and most importnalty the hindi media off chain say sona hay tu jaag jaooo..give some realistic and logical comments dont become a laughing stock..
@Paras Look who's Replying?:P
We as big brother in the sub continent, should take the lead and leave Kahmir and Kashmiris alone. Withdraw our army;
Its a small price to pay for peace in the region. What is more important is that we follow what Gandhiji said and live peacefully with our neighbours, it will be better for more than 1.5 billion people. With no reason to build armies and armaments; people will live a better and prosperous life... May better sense prevail! Jay Gandhiji!
@Salim Ansari: Do you want to make LoC an international border? Think before you ... Kashmiris are one nation on both sides of LoC. Do you really want to divide them? What are you saying??? Is that what you really mean???
UN has become a joking club.. the biggest joker is US which makes faces at everyone in contempt with complete disregard for international law, the biggest puppet of this joker is India which does the same. It is happy to kill and rape what they call their 'own people' (i.e. kashmiris) and doesn't even accept it as an issue...
And the citizens of this biggest puppet of the big joker don't have a respectable newspaper ion their country to comment on, so they run to ET for that...
India: the world's largest cesspool; world's largest lot of poorest people; and worlds largest lot of mentally sick elite; world's most hegemonic neighbor
You ont even have respectable newspaper to comment on...
:-)
Diminished Hindu's from pakistan ?? Ethenic cleansing ????? Abduction of Hindu and Christian girls ... and coneverting them ... to Islam ... what kind of Country is that ?? Contarary ... Muslims have grown in population everywhere they have gone in the world ...including so called HINDU INDIA !!!... Hyprocrates are't you ??
@ Salim Ansari .. Start with Baluchistan first and Sindh next ... you will be astonished with the results ... Do u think Kashmiries will join Pakistan ?? Try and read foriegn papers and columns... and not Urdu news ... u will know where u stand ...as a Pakistani
addressing the historical injustices such as festering disputes and foreign occupation.
I guess it refers to Kashmir in particular. Historically Kashmir has been a Hindu land before Islamic occupation. How about leaving the lands of Sindhu desh and present day Afghanistan, which were legally Hindu lands and were occupied by the Arabs (i guess present day pakistanis are same as Arabs- right?) after sickening amount of bloodshed and genocide.
Those people who do not know why they are being killed in bomb attacks must comment on such news reports. Their opinion will decide innocence.
Hush up Paras. Britains Law maker yesterday gave a detailed briefing to their parlimentarians on how India is voilating its constitution in Held Jammu Kashmir. Now where r ur claims to be the best democracy in the world.
We should start with a plebiscite in Azad Kashmir.
@Paras Vikmani:
its Pakistan FYI
Look who's speaking? :P