ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s climate change minister said principles of justice and human rights must be applied universally, according to an official statement released on Monday, warning against selective enforcement as he addressed a United Nations forum in Saudi Arabia focused on dialogue among civilizations.

The remarks came at the 11th Global Forum of the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC), held in Riyadh to mark the body’s 20th anniversary. The forum brings together political leaders, policymakers, and civil society groups to promote dialogue, mutual understanding, and cooperation across cultures and religions.

Its latest edition comes at a time of growing geopolitical fragmentation and conflict.

“I am firmly committed to women’s rights, minority rights, environmental rights, and children’s rights,” Musadik Malik said while addressing the gathering. “These rights are fundamental and non-negotiable.”

He said the global order was increasingly marked by weakening multilateralism, rising conflicts, and declining international funding for development and environmental priorities, cautioning that unilateral actions were replacing collective approaches with consequences for global peace and justice.

Malik questioned what he described as the selective application of human rights principles, drawing attention to the situations in Palestine and Kashmir, and said the rights of people in those regions must be recognized and protected in line with international norms.

The minister also highlighted water rights as a growing source of regional tension, emphasizing the responsibility of upper riparian states to ensure equitable and just sharing of water resources with downstream countries to support stability and sustainable development.

His statement comes months after India said unilaterally it was holding the Indus Waters Treaty “in abeyance,” a move described as illegal by the administration in Islamabad and as “an act of war.”

The 1960 agreement between India and Pakistan, brokered by the World Bank, divides the rivers of the Indus basin between the two countries and sets rules for how they can use and manage shared water resources to avoid conflict.

Malik said the UNAOC’s 20th anniversary was a timely reminder of the need to recommit to dialogue, peace, and mutual respect in an increasingly divided world.