Pakistan has called on the UN Security Council to implement its own resolutions on Kashmir, says a press release received here today from New York. Speaking in the debate on the Working Methods of the Security Council, Pakistan’s Ambassador to UN, Maleeha Lodhi said, “The Council should periodically review implementation of its resolutions, especially on longstanding issues like the Jammu and Kashmir dispute”. ‘Selective’ implementation of its resolutions, she stressed, undermines the credibility of the Council. “Failure to enforce its own resolutions undercuts not just the Council’s standing in the world, but the UN’s as well”, she stated emphatically. Noting that all member states have a stake in the maintenance of international peace and security, the Pakistani envoy highlighted the need for enhanced engagement of the Council with the wider UN membership. “The number and proportion of open meetings of the Council must therefore be increased”, she added. Ambassador Lodhi also called for ensuring meaningful participation of states with a legitimate stake in the Council’s deliberations throughout the decision-making process. This, she said, was especially true for troop and police contributing countries, Pakistan being among the consistent and leading ones. “It is essential that the Council’s effective partnership with Troops Contributing Countries (TCCs) is extended beyond the mere operational aspects of a mandate, and include decision-making, policy formulation and mandate formation as well”, she added The Council, she said, should be more transparent and balanced in the working of its subsidiary organs. Elected members, she emphasised, should have a more equitable representation on these organs and they should also play a bigger role as ‘penholders’ on issues on the Council’s agenda. Ambassador Lodhi also urged the Council to rely more on the instrument of diplomacy and pacific settlement of disputes than on coercive measures. “Increasing reliance on Chapter VII can lead to impasse and at times a diminished focus on diplomacy, which is not desirable”, she added. She said that before mandating actions under Chapter VII of the Charter, the Security Council should ensure that all recourse to peaceful means have been exhausted, and that it is a measure of last resort. Expressing the necessity to augment openness and transparency in the Council’s working, Ambassador Lodhi said that over the years, elected members of the Council have led the charge in bringing improvements to its working methods. “There is in fact, an inextricable link between the nature of membership of the Council and the need felt to make the Council more open and transparent. This link is called ‘Accountability’”, she added. She concluded by asserting that the best way to enhance the democratic and representative character of the Council was to reinforce the norm of accountability, and not to support any actions that threaten to undermine or reverse these ideals.
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