NEW YORK – Permanent Representative of Pakistan to the United NationsAmbassador Munir Akram termed 2020 a successful year for Pakistan,highlighting country’s achievements in the UN on multilateral diplomaticfront in the outgoing year.
“In line with the direction and guidance of our leadership, we played aleading role in different multilateral process in New York,” said the envoyin a message.
He said that highlighting continued military siege and massive human rightsviolations in illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir remained a keyobjective.
“We continued to make the legal, political and moral case for the Kashmirisfreedom struggle,” Akram said.
The case was also contained in a Pakistan sponsored resolution on theuniversal realization of the right of peoples to self-determination whichwas adopted by consensus by the General Assembly.
At Pakistan’s request, and with the support of China, the Security Councildiscussed the situation in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmirtwice in 2020 – most recently on 5 August 2020 at the first anniversary ofthe unilateral and illegal action of BJP-RSS regime.[image: Loading video]
“We also continue to expose state-sponsored terrorism by India.We presenteda detailed dossier prepared by the government to the UN Secretary Generalcontaining irrefutable evidence on India’s subversive and destabilizingrole in our region.”
He added that the mission is also working to counter disinformationnetworks by alerting the world to the real and present danger emanatingfrom false Indian propaganda through identity theft, technical abuse andfalse attribution to the UN system.
Pakistan also raised the issue of Islamophobia at the United Nations. Ourresolution on “inter-religious and inter-cultural dialogue” which calls forrespect for religious symbols and legitimate restrictions on freedom ofexpression was adopted by an overwhelming majority by the General Assembly.
This year both the Secretary General and the President of the GeneralAssembly visited Pakistan highlighting Pakistan’s multifaceted and vitalrelationship with the United Nations.
“We continue to promote Pakistan’s key role in facilitating the Afghanpeace process and our efforts to ensure a lasting peace led and owned byour Afghan brothers and sisters.”
The General Assembly also adopted four resolutions tabled by Pakistan onregional disarmament, conventional arms control, and confidence buildingmeasures at regional levels as well as resolutions calling for negativesecurity assurances against the attack against non-nuclear weapon states.
As one of the top troop contributors to UN Peacekeeping, Pakistan continuedto serve to keep peace in far flung missions around the world. The role ofour blue-helmet was greatly appreciated, and 69 Pakistani peacekeepers wereawarded medals in the Liberian mission for the acknowledgment of theircontributions in the West African country.
In 2020, Pakistan had the honour of presiding over UN Economic and SocialCouncil amidst a global pandemic that has brought unprecedented economicand social challenges.
Pakistan advocated for a strong people-centric international response toCovid-19 based on solidarity and cooperation to support global economicrecovery, achievement of the sustainable development goals, whileaddressing the challenges faced by developing countries.
During the Special Session of the UNGA on Covid-19, our Prime Ministerpresented a comprehensive 10-point agenda aimed at supporting developingStates in the recovery process.
“We have also made a strong call for an equitable and universal access tothe COVID-19 vaccine, while giving priority to vulnerable groups,” Akramsaid.
On Climate Change, this year will be remembered for Pakistan’s boldleadership and ambition. We have also highlighted the need for investmentsin sustainable infrastructure to eliminate poverty to build back better andalign digital technologies and Intellectual property regime to sustainabledevelopment goals and climate objectives.
This year, Pakistan was reelected to serve for three more years in theHuman Rights Council, a key UN body by obtaining the highest votes in theAsia Pacific region.
The Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations is committed toserve to the fullest of its abilities and to represent Pakistan as a viablemember state at the United Nations.
He concluded that the mission will continue to serve the nation in thecoming year as well.