Pakistan and the United Nations: a historic relationship
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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ visit to Pakistan is an important event. Having joined the world body in September 1947, Pakistan attaches great importance to international co-operation through this organization. The country fully adheres to its pristine principles of promoting peace and prosperity, fighting hunger and disease, promoting literacy and helping nations in times of natural or man-made disasters. Its commitment to the UN system can be gauged from the fact that Pakistan has been elected seven times as a member of the Security Council and has been a leading contributor to UN peacekeeping contingents. Pakistani missions in New York and Geneva have been consistently active at the multilateral level.
In 1947, India took the Kashmir case to the United Nations which passed resolutions for holding an impartial plebiscite there, in order to know the will of the Kashmiri people. So Pakistan attached high hopes with the world body from the very beginning. After a debate on Indo-Pak issues, the UN played a role in arranging a cease-fire during the 1965 war.
In 1972, the newly admitted China blocked Bangladesh’s membership of the UN and tagged it to India releasing Pakistani prisoners of war. During the 1980’s Pakistan tabled several resolutions yearly, demanding the Soviet Union to withdraw from Afghanistan. These resolutions were invariably passed with two-third majority votes. This kept the Soviet Union under international pressure.
The quest for UN system reform began in the 1990s. While Pakistan generally supported the reform idea, it was wary of the proposed expansion of permanent category members of the Security Council. Germany, Japan, India, and Brazil had started a concerted campaign to acquire that exalted status. Pakistan argued that it would strengthen the privileged group and violate the principle of sovereign equality. Pakistan, Italy, South Korea, and Argentina formed a group to lobby against this move which was undemocratic in nature. They co-opted like-minded member states and named their group, “Uniting for consensus.” This strong group pleaded that a matter as important as UN reform should be tackled through broad consensus. Pakistan is of the view that UN Security Council membership expansion should be in the non-permanent category, giving developing nations a greater sense of participation.
Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees over the last four decades. It has closely worked with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for the upkeep of these refugees and their ultimate repatriation to their homeland. It is here that Pakistan expects the world body to be more actively involved. As of now, the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is reckoned to be around two and a half million. This is a drag on the Pakistani economy and job market. This issue is being raised with the Secretary-General again.
Fifteen Pakistani female soldiers are also part of UN peace keeping forces in the Congo since last year. Last week, two Pakistani women officers were recognized by the UN for their outstanding performance in the Congo. Pakistan was the first country to send female peace keepers to that African nation.
Javed Hafeez
Though its achievements in peace and security fields are modest, the UN has been more effective in other fields. Palestine and Kashmir are the oldest items on the UN agenda. Unfortunately, we live in a world where power trumps moral stands. However, the international body also deals with economic co-operation, human rights, literacy, health, gender issues, child protection, nuclear disarmament, and environmental issues.
Pakistan is one of the ten countries to be most affected by climate change. It has to take measures to limit damage starting now. It is here that co-operation with the UN Environment Program (UNEP) is of paramount importance to enhance knowledge, skills, and capacity to meet the challenge.
With its total membership at 193 states, the UN is still the most important world forum to project Pakistan’s point of view on all issues, including Kashmir. Prime Minister Imran Khan put forward Pakistan’s response to Indian unilateral measures in Kashmir at the last General Assembly annual session quite forcefully. Subsequently, the US Congress and the EU parliament also discussed the conditions prevailing in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Seeing as Pakistan attaches great importance to the world body, the UN too maintains a number of its offices in Islamabad. These are the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), International Labour Organization (ILO) and United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). WFP also has offices in Lahore, Peshawar, Quetta, and Hyderabad. Some Afghanistan related UN offices are also based in Pakistan.
Fifteen Pakistani female soldiers are also part of UN peacekeeping forces in the Congo since last year. Last week, two Pakistani women officers were recognized by the UN for their outstanding performance in the Congo. Pakistan was the first country to send female peacekeepers to that African nation.
The appointment of these officers abroad is in line with the UN objective of gender equality and it also promotes Pakistan’s soft image abroad. Pakistan’s abiding commitment to multilateral co-operation continues despite a perceptible decline in the perception of the importance of multilateral diplomacy.
* Javed Hafeez is a former Pakistani diplomat with much experience of the Middle East. He writes weekly columns in Pakistani and Gulf newspapers and appears regularly on satellite TV channels as a defense and political analyst.
Twitter: @hafiz_javed
